


Five Nights at Wahoo World

by MyNameIsMarkus



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's, Splatoon
Genre: Animatronics, Collaboration, Cursed Machines, Depression, Disaster Lesbians, F/F, Flingza Roller, Fresh Fish is fuckin' creepy yo, Frightfest, Halloween, Ink is Blood, Turf War, Ve is a smol bab, pizzeria, security guards - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26989348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyNameIsMarkus/pseuds/MyNameIsMarkus
Summary: After a tragic accident takes them out of Turf War for a few weeks, Inkling Marja and Octoling Ve are hurting for cash to meet their rent. Deciding to take up a security officer job at Wahoo World's family-friendly pizzeria, the two eventually discover that it is sadly anything but. This is the tale of a couple squaring off against robotic monstrosities, and hostile forces watching content from the darkness...
Relationships: Inkling(s)/Octoling(s) (Splatoon)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. A War of Turfs

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaboration between me and a dear friend of mine.
> 
> DeviantART Link is here; https://www.deviantart.com/masterperrymartin/art/Five-Nights-at-Wahoo-World-Prologue-857966635

“ _Hello, squids and squidettes, it’s time for another wonderful match of TURF WAR! A nice sunny day out here at Blackbelly Skatepark! On the Pink team, we have Pepstar with the Glooga Daulies, AceShot23 with the Bloblobber Deco, AquaSpletzer with the Splattershot Classic, and Destini with the Foil Flingza Roller!_ ”

“Who picks their nicknames these days…”

“ _And on the Green team, We have StarLight with the Fresh Squiffer, 2Sleepy2Care with the Aerospray PG, Warbreaker with the Heavy Splatling and Cute-T-Pi with the Splattershot Jr. Let’s count it down and start the party, Pearlie!_ ”

“ _You said it, Marina! 3!!! 2!!! 1!!! Let’s go, let’s go, LET’S GO!!!_ ” 

It was a glorious day in Inkopolis as both teams immediately charged into the fray, a wave of pink and green ink slowly taking over the park as they progressed. The Pink Team had rushed for the Midpoint, little flecks of ink covering their spawn but nevertheless leaving empty splotches in the splashes. One of them was even squid-partying. Green Team meanwhile were very thorough in covering their base, the Aerospray and Jr. making quick work of spawn and the close-to-spawn ramps, their Specials practically charged. The Heavy Splatling moved up to confront the enemies head on, with the Squiffer user following behind him.

“Let’s get the high ground and keep the greens busy!” Starlight declares, her orange eyes beaming with both excitement and confidence. Turf War was something the Octoling was weary about at first, but over time she found it to be great fun. All the joys of active combat with none of the gruesome consequences. And sure, she was not exactly the best fighter, but the fun really was all that she cared about. Though the payment for winning was a nice bonus too.

The pair made their way up while the Jr. user flanked left and the Aerospray right. The Aerospray Inkling, in contrast to her cheerful Octo-companion, was a little less than enthused about Turf War. She liked it just fine, preferred a little Salmon Run perhaps. She was never good at the gamemode, to the point that one particular match had brought her to her lowest point there and then. But then, she would never have met her companion, had she not failed so badly there, so she was alright with messing around in it. 

She had grumbled that they had a new Turfer on the team, still enclosed in the default gear they gave to new players. They were going to be a problem, lacking experience as they always did, so she would have to push herself extra hard to make up for it. She dashed forward, spiraling around and covering every floor and wall in hot green ink, occasionally dipping into the hollow ringing of her own ink puddle to recharge her own supplies. She reached the end of the left flank, and ducked behind the cover as she saw her companion let loose a stream of ink up the central tower. 

Both StarLight and Warbreaker were wreaking havoc on top of the platform, their long range weapons splatting the Bloblobber with a satisfying pop. Both shared a Booyah before another challenger approached the tower. Knowing that their enemies are up above, the Inkling with the Daulies activates their Special: The Inkjet. One pink blast annihilates the Splatling Octoling while Starlight jumps off in a panic.The Dualie jumped onto the tower and sat in his ink as one of his teammates superjumped straight to him. They shared a Booyah and a brief round of squid partying before the Bloblobber managed to charge his special. A myriad of Suction Bombs rained down on the Squiffer’s position, a fearful yelp escaping her as she ran back to spawn. The Aerosprayer sighed, watching as the newer player ate a barrage of ink near Pink’s spawn, and rushed back to spawn herself.

She had gotten back just as the Squiffer arrived, her face a fluster and her breath short. She sighed and ran to the Squiffer, hands placed on her shoulder, “You okay, babe?”

The Octoling nodded, looking into her partner’s eyes, “Y-Yeah, I’m alright. Just wasn’t expecting an Ink Blast to the face...” She looks back to the battlefield, her two other teammates already rushing back to retake the centre. “I need to get back onto the tower.”

“Yeah, we won’t last long with those two newbies if we don’t,” her partner growled, “If we take the right flank, we should avoid anyone inking down where I was, maybe get the Classic user. Lead the way, I’ll cover you.”

Starlight nods and the duo swim in their ink, heading through the U-shaped pathway. The Splattershot Classic user was there advancing, but the distraction of an Aerospray and one swift shot with the Charger sent her straight back to spawn. Seeing a clear shot up the tower, the Squiffer shoots her path. But the moment the pair got up to the top, a soft whistling noise loomed from above.

“Tenta Missiles!!”

The Octoling barely had time to look up, seeing the barrage of missiles aimed square at her. Gritting her teeth, she only had enough time to shove her Inkling companion off of the tower, with no time to run herself. There was a dreadful splash as she was buried under the barrage, her soul softly floating back to the Respawn Pad.

The Inkling landed with a clatter on the bottom of the tower. She reached up to the tower, screaming “VE!!!” A wave of horror overtook her. She was fine, she KNEW she was fine. But the thought of even the smallest chance of losing her friend, it was...it left her distraught.. So distraught, at that, she had failed to notice the Flinga Roller Octoling sneaking behind her. Desti, a stalwart of the profession, well-renowned tryhard and a truly intolerable persona when she got competitive. Clad in her blue hoodie and boots, she eyed the weeping Inkling as practice for her new weapon. Nothing more.

“Aww, ain’t that cute?” she mocked, before taking a hearty swing.

Desti was careless. She had ditched her Blaster - a broken mockery of one, anyhow - for a Flingza Roller. A new type of weapon after much tinkering and experimenting; it had a normal horizontal swing, while the vertical swing had much more range at the cost of a longer wind-up time. And this was thanks to a calibrator inside the part where all the ink was used for fighting. Said calibrator was a very sharp piece of metal and is safely kept away from anywhere which could hit another person.

...Most of the time. Sometimes the locking mechanism would fail, and it would swing straight out during a swing. It was rare. But when it did happen...well.

Desti realized too late as the metal part slashed straight through the Inkling’s leg, making her cry out with a horrific screech as she crumbled in pain. Cyan ink oozed out from the deep wound and mixed with the green on the floor as tears slowly streaked down the poor girl’s cheeks, agony-like breaths and screams echoed through the map. The Roller user had dropped her faulty weapon in horror, a shocked gasp escaping her.

“What happened?!” the Inkling in a red beanie and headphones and goggles said, bounding over. It was Meggy, another name in the Turf War scene, clearly getting some practice in, “I heard…” she looked down at the green Inkling, screaming in pain, ink straining her leggings and Dakronics. She turned in shock to her companion, “Holy squid, Desti! What did you do?!” Desti shrugged fearfully, and Meggy jumped forward to place pressure on the wound, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I know what to do,” she said calmly, looking up to the cats overlooking the scene, “YO, JUDD! We got a Code Grey over here!”

At this point, all the competitors had stopped their spawn camping and bunny hopping to take a look at the current scene, each expression changed in between shock and empathy at the bawling girl. The new Inkling in particular looked like she might vomit at the sight of an open wound.

But then...a growl. A deep, guttural, furious growl. Desti had looked up, and saw a sight she wished she didn’t. The Squiffer user was looking upon the sordid scene, a look of white-hot fury on her face. Her hands were trembling, fingers itching the trigger of her gun. She growled again, “What...did you do?”

“I-I’m sorry!” Desti cried out, “I didn’t-”

“ **WHAT,** ” the Octoling exploded into a rage, “ **DID YOU DO!** **TO MY GIRLFRIEND!!!** ” and with a banshee-like screech, she charged Desti and knee’d her square in the jaw, flinging her from the Inkling’s body and landing in a stinging puddle of green ink. Grabbing her companion’s PG, the Aerospray opened fire, splatting Desti within seconds. Only her clothing remained as her soul floated away, slowly sinking into the ooze. 

All the spectators just stand there, Meggy’s face twisted into something resembling a mix between horror and amusement. The Jr. girl had ran off the moment the Inkling screeched, crying in fear and leaving her gun abandoned in her escape. An awkward silence filled the air before the crowd slowly dispersed.

“Damn…” Meggy almost sounded impressed, “That’s gonna knock her down a peg…”

More sniffled gasps came from the fallen Inkling as she clutched her leg and looked up to her partner, “Ve...oh COD it hurts!”

“Sshhh, it’s okay Marja…” Ve called out, eschewing the stupid nicknames, “Help’s on the way…” and sure enough, a duo of Jellyfish came scrambling down with a stretcher and carefully move the injured girl onto it. More pained whimpers leak out her mouth, attacking her partner’s heart. She was wheeled off of the side, off towards the Kettles,as the crowd reformed around the Inkling. She was beginning to calm, arched over and hands resting on her thighs. They all looked around each other before the sound of the tannoy turning on caused them to peer to the skies.

“ _Uh...I see...yeah, okay…_ ” came a voice from over the tannoy. It was Marina Ida, one of the Off the Hook duo, “ _Uh, attention, please! Due to the injuries of the 2Sleepy2Care, aka Marja Breen, this match has been cancelled. The scores point towards Pink Team winning out, but this match will be struck from your match history, so it doesn’t matter. Please make your way back to the kettles to return to the Square._ ”

“ _AND!_ ” came Pearl’s voice over the tannoy, “ _Starlight...uh, Ve. Hun. Please hand in your Turf War card to our aju...ajooo-_ ”

“ _Adjudicator._ ”

“ _Thanks, ‘Rina. Please hand your card to the cat, I’m afraid we have to ban you from Turf War for two weeks for that, uh, incident._ ”

“...I-I didn’t mean to do it, mama...”

===

It took a while for Marja to be patched back up. It was not uncommon for such injuries to occur, though such a deep wound was difficult to treat. It mostly comes down to natural regeneration, which means movement could interrupt or even worsen the healing process. All that said, the pair returned to Ve’s apartment, the injured Marja now on crutches with a massive bandage wrapped around her thigh. The duo didn’t once talk on their travels and silently entered their home. It took a few more minutes before the Inkling spoke up to the seated Octoling.

“...Why?” Marja asked, her voice gently quivering. The Octoling looked at her with a questioning expression. She spoke up again, “Why did you push me off the tower? Why didn’t you run?”

“I wanted to make sure you were safe,” Ve said calmly, “I always look out for ya, you know that. Plus you were more important on the frontlines with your Aerospray, moreso than me with a Charger so-”

She stopped, mainly by the Inkling throwing herself into a hug, holding her tight to her face. She lost composure, sobbing grossly, “NEVER do that again! The thought of losing you, after everything you’ve done, I...I-I…”

“I-I know, Marja...” She gently coos, rubbing the sobbing girl’s back. “It’s alright… I’m still here, okay? I’m still with you. Right here.”

“Don’t go…” Marja sobbed, “Please don’t go…”

“I won’t go…” Ve sighed, kissing her companion on the forehead, “I’m always here, right by your side…” she broke from the embrace, walking towards the breakfast bar, upon which sat some letters. She studied them, knowing exactly what they were, “We...we, uh, we got a problem. We don’t have enough cash for rent this month, I don’t think…”

“...Great…” Marja grumbled tiredly, “And I can’t Turf ‘cause my leg got damaged, and you got banned for two weeks! Just...great! What’re we gonna do…?”

“It’s okay, it’s fine. It’s okay and fine. We just need work, is all! Temp work. We’ve enough for food, we just need a liiiiiitle bit more for rent. There’re those Salmon shifts, though I’ve heard how deadly that work is. And I don’t want you hurt worse. Uhh, you probably don’t want a fast-food job, do you?” Her head falls into her hands as a fracture of frustration broke through.

“What, that McDanio’s place?” Marja shuddered, “You seen those people? Worked to the bone for nothing! No wonder everyone plays Turf War to earn their pay. Uh...what else…” she thought for perhaps a little too long, “What about working in the stores at the Square?”

“Not unless you want to have your ears combust from dumb people...” Soft snickering snaps her head back up to the Inkling. “What, it’s true! Why do so many people not know what they want, or have to re-check everything before going back to their first idea?” Another instance where the domes had a more functioning society compared to the Inklings, but now is hardly the time for that debate.

“I know...ooh, what about Ranked?” There was a long, miserable pause as the two stared at each other. Nothing needed to be said about how woefully moronic such an idea was. It just took a few seconds for either to admit it, “...Yeah okay that was, uh, one of the dumbest things I’ve ever said. Alongside stuff like, ‘what type of fish are Salmonoids’.”

Ve sighed once more, head lowered even more, “I… I don’t know what to do...”

“Hmm…” Marja set her brain to work one more time, before, at long last, something lit up in her head. It wasn’t a lightbulb, but it was...something! She looked to the door, and indeed, a copy was splayed across the floor; “The newspaper! There has to be job offerings in the newspaper! Ve!” Ve nodded, and she scrambled to get it, snatching it off of the ground and sitting down next to Marja with it in hand. Marja chuckled, “Finally, this thing comes in handy for more than cheap toilet paper! Now, let’s see...page 24 for job listings…”

They flipped through the pages until they hit that section. A ton of jobs are scattered among the page, each with their details, shifts, employers, all the required information needed for the girls. Marja frowned. It was like looking through the menu at that fancy tofu restaurant down the street; nothing in it, and nothing that looked good.

Ve noticed her expression and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing in small, soothing motions. “K-Keep looking, there has to be something we can do...” Honestly, some just sounded awful to do, like being Sheldon’s friend. Screw that. This was mean, yes, but the truth hurts sometimes. Ve shuddered and scanned the page further, “Uh, ooh! Lifeguard?”

“I...think that one’s for Jellies and the like,” Marja huffed, “We Inkos are just as water-soluble as you are.”

“Aww…” Ve sighed, “Well, what about Delivery Assistant?”

“Nah,” Marja grumbled, “We don’t know the area that well, and we have no union.”

“Come on!” Ve sighed, “There’s gotta be something! What about Chef?”

Marja stared at her like she had just sneezed in her ear, “Do you...REMEMBER what happened last time you cooked?”

“OH...r-right…” Ve looked downright sheepish, “I...kinda burned down the kitchen. But, it was a difficult recipe...okay it was cornflakes, but...” she shook her head, sifting through more entries, “Never mind, keep looking...oooh. Security Guard?”

“Now THAT sounds up my street!” Marja grinned, “Details?”

Ve brought the newspaper closer and read the printed words. “‘Pizzawurld pizzeria looking for security guard to work the night shift: 12AM to 6AM, Monday to Sunday. Monitor cameras, ensure safety of equipment and, uhh…‘animatronic characters’, whatever they are?” Ve gave her partner a questioning look who simply shrugged.

Marja arched over to read the offer, “Not responsible for injury, death or dismemberment...well that’s blunt,” she sighed, “But...it’s the damn graveyard shift. How hard can that be? PLUS…” she pointed down to her own leg, “We'll just be sitting on our butts all day, so my leg won't be an issue...and ain’t anything better. Ring ‘em up, tell ‘em we can start next Monday...”

Ve gives a nod and pulls out her Octophone. They got the job. Almost instantly, at that. No screening or anything. Then again, you probably didn’t NEED a degree for this sort of work. Not that Inklings had any to begin with. Marja had a deep, troubling feeling in her stomach. Like this was a bad idea and then some. But then she looked up, at Ve’s smiling face. It was bright like sunbeams, and filled her with the type of joy she once thought extinct. She’d do the job. For her.


	2. Fresh Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set up with a brand new job, Marja and Ve decide it would be a good idea to look out amongst the Pizzeria to see what kind of work they're in for. Their first shift runs quite smoothly, but some things are just aching to go bump in the night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://www.deviantart.com/masterperrymartin/art/Five-Nights-at-Wahoo-World-Chapter-1-858008657?ga_submit_new=10%3A1602771388

“Woooow. This place feels so different compared to the Turf and Rank variations. So many people and shops and rides!”

“I fail to see how places so loud are fun to others. Giving me a headache...” Was the grumpy response from the crutch-using Marja. Both her and Ve were making their way through the clustered theme park on their way to their “NEW EXCITING” job, or at least visiting the place they were going to spend the next week at. It was actually the wounded girl’s idea, one both quickly agreed on. It would be better to know the ins and outs of the pizzeria before watching over it at the spooky hours of the late night.

The park was in full swing, being around lunch time. Hundreds of Inklings, Octolings, Jellies and plenty of other members of society were exploring to their enjoyment. Kids running everywhere with cotton candy and face paint, teens screaming on roaring roller coasters that made cars look like pathetic toddler toys and the responsible adults who looked like they spent one too many minutes having their ear drums assassinated and would much rather sit down to watch some reality TV. Still Ve couldn’t help but look in wonder at all the colourful attractions, seeing all the different ways the metal tracks aligned and turned, twisted and looped. Part of her would love nothing more than to experience them here and now, but her partner’s injury kept her child-wonder in check. Heck, the Inkling had to keep stopping and moving with how hyper-active the crowd is.

“Ack! You mind lady?!” She growled, the parent knocking into her and other innocent bystanders trying to regain control of two ice-cream powered children.

“Marja, please keep calm,” Ve said softly, wiping the spilt frozen treat off of her partner’s cheek, “We’re gonna have a LOT of stuff to do tonight. Best save our energy, yeah?”

“Let’s just get this whole thing out of the way,” Marja shrugged, or as best she could on her crutches, “I wanna make sure this job is legit and what we’re looking for.”

“I-I agree!” Ve chirped, “Never hurts to make sure. The guy on the phone said there was someone on the day shift we’d be talking to...ooh, we’re here!” The pair looked up to the building’s massive Neon sign, complete with the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook idols posing with mouth-watering pizzas fresh from the oven. “PizzaWurld” rang true and many customers were visible inside the establishment. The pair walked inside, greeted by numerous neon lights and squid patterns around the walls as families enjoyed their flattened meals. In the corner was a ball pit, where a brown hair boy was playing with and looking after multiple squishies, all laughing in delight. Marja almost vomited at the sweet sight.

“This place looks tacky…” Marja grumbled, “Why do people come here? What’s here?”

“Well it says in their contract stuff,” Ve looked up at the Inkling, “That their main claim to fame are 100% licensed, ahem, ‘Safe, Talented Operators of Linear Entertainment and Nourishment’. In other words, Animatronics.”

“Of who?”

“ _Sta-a-a-a-a-y Fresh!_ ”

Oh. Them. They reached the Main Stage. Tons of tables were lined before the stage, covered in colourful polka-dot sheets and lined with paper plates and cutlery and party hats. And pizza. Lots and lots of cheap-looking pizza. Black-and-white tiled floors, beige ceilings. And there, upon the large steel stage, were the Animatronics. Large, chunky parodies of the pop idols that shaped the city’s culture; Callie and Marie, the Squid Sisters, and the Off the Hook duo of Pearl and Marina. Each rendered in blocky plastic suits stuck over robotic skeletons, their hands large and hinged. Bodies segmented, showing vague snippets of the wires and motherboards inside. Their expressions frozen into delirious joy, LED eyes glowing brightly.

They were performing to the eating audience on the main stage, Callie singing into her microphone while Marie danced stiffly alongside her. Marina looked on from the sidelines, seemingly content and smiling. And Pearl was...uh, Pearl wasn’t really doing anything. Her eyes were dim and she was shaking slightly. The fact she was even on stage puzzled the two girls beyond logic. Not that kids didn’t even notice; they were entranced by Callie’s singing to the crowd.

“...That’s cool, I wasn’t sleeping tonight anyway,” Marja grumbled. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the way the bots looked, the way they moved...it was simply wrong. Twisted, contorting mockeries of the Sisters she saw all the time on the big screen.

Ve herself took a closer look at the fallen Pearl robotic, “...Curious. This almost looks like Octarian work, yet… not quite? It’s like a mix of robotics.”

“Like it was thrown together by a bunch of people who never saw each other,” Marja suggested, to which the Octoling hummed in agreement..

“Heh, that ain’t that far from the truth, doll…” came a voice from behind them. As they turned, what they could only describe as a cosplaying kid appeared. The Inkling girl was very short in stature, so much so that the small Ve even had a few inches on her. Her tentacle hair was styled in two very short ponytails at the sides of the head, coloured a faint reddish ginger. Sparkly glitter sprinkled her cheeks, only cutifying her face more including her deep purple eyes. If her body wasn’t bizarre enough, her clothing choice really didn’t help her case. She wore an adorable, flowy skirt covered in colourful designs, though it was surprisingly high that her thighs were easily visible if someone tried to look underneath. Pure white socks ran up to her knees, with her feet finishing off with two cutesy shoes schoolers would wear. Inkopolis was usually wacky with fashion, but this is weirder than wearing a kimono in the square. Somewhere a moody agent with a sniper sneezed to the irony of this statement.

Marja stared, bewildered not even justifying half of how she felt right now, “You are, kid…?”

“Sorry, forgot to introduce myself,” the Inkling said, walking forward and shaking Marja’s free hand, “My name is Sallie. I’m the manager of this here establishment! Here to give all the little squiddie kiddies their daily smiles!”

“And grease?” Marja half snarked, half joked, causing her friend to sputter in shock. 

“M-Marja!” Ve snapped, before turning to Sallie, “Sorry. My friend, she uh...she kind of got into an accident.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” Sallie shivered, “Made the news. Nasty. Anyway, you’re the night shift pair, yeah? I was told you’d be coming. Would you like a tour?” Smiling at the pair nodding, the girl marched onward, keeping a slower pace than usual for the one in crutches. The group made their way around hungry customers and spilt food, going through a metal door.

“This here is the kitchen! Where we bake our freshly made pizzas with extra flavour!” Sallie exclaimed, yet nothing too noteworthy was inside the food area. What seemed like college workers made the meals with about as much emotion as an ink stain. Ve felt like the broken Pearl animatronic was more alive than these guys as they barely noticed the trio entering. She even saw one wearing a ‘I really wish I wasn’t here right now.’ badge. “How’s my lovelies doing in here?!”

All workers gave a glance before continuing, causing Marja to snort. “Just filled with love, huh?” Ve gave a slightly foul look to which the Inkling shrugged and mouthed ‘Am I wrong?’ as they all left the kitchen. Sallie then led the two closer to the Main and Side stages. Pearl was now gone, having been ushered off to the side stage and hidden behind a curtain - she just about poked through it. Speakers were playing, telling the children gathered around it that Pearl was feeling tired and that she had a few bedtime stories to tell. Weird to tell them in the middle of the day, but whatever worked.

“Anyway, these are the stages, as you can see,” Sallie continued, “There are where our robotic idols sing and dance for the kids! Just a bucket of fun, they are! They shouldn’t be much of a problem. Just keep an eye on them every now and then, make sure no-one steals ‘em. Got that?” both nodded, “Good! Onto the next area!”

After eyeing the robots for a brief moment, they follow the tour guide behind the stage door next to the side stage. Inside is what looked like a maintenance room of sorts, full of spare robotic parts, batteries and a massive electricity panel. Ve coughed a little from the air and spoke up. “A lot of parts in here, Miss.”

She nodded with a playful clap of her hands. “Yep! This is what we call the Back Room. Full of everything we need in case of maintenance. Also, see that panel full of switches? That controls the entire building’s power and different sections and groups, but no worries. You won’t need to know all of it.” They let out a sigh of relief, which made the Inkling girl giggle, “Alright! Last thing to show, the office. This way.”

She skipped out of the back room, Ve and Marja stumbled after her. She acted...weird. Near-childlike. For a manager? Hmm. They followed her back down the corridors towards a room that sat just beyond the entrances. It was a small office, just enough space for two people to stand in, a couple chairs, a small bathroom off to the side (thankfully) and a battery of monitors and computers hooked up on a desk. They also noticed buttons for two mechanical doors with lights placed on either side.

“This is the office?” Marja asked, scouting the area a little.

“I feel like it’s not as secure as one should be,” Ve quietly added.

“This is the office, yeah!” Sallie chirped, twirling to face the two, “You check the cameras here,” she pointed, “Peer into the darkness with that button,” she pointed to the top button, “Close the doors with this one,” she pointed to the bottom one, “And finally, this screen gives you an idea of how much power you have, AND the time!”

“Wait, power?” Marja asked.

“And why do the doors need lights?” Ve continued, to which the manager playfully waved off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll record you a message for when your shift starts, giving you all the details,” Sallie said happily, “I don’t leave my employees completely in the dark, you know?” She giggled, before loudly clapping her hands. ”And that concludes the tour! Understand the ins and outs of the layout?” Marja and Ve nodded delighting the smaller woman, “Great! I hope you’re looking forward to your first shift! Enjoy the rest of your day my lovelies.”

“Thank you,” Ve said happily, “We will. See you around, Miss...uh, sorry, didn’t get your name.”

Sallie chuckled, flashing her purple eyes, “Afton, dear. Miss Sallie Afton. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

===

Marja checked her watch. It was 11:30. She struggled with her clothing, looking wistfully at the smiling Octoling next to her. She flashed one her trademark warm grins, and the Inkling couldn’t help but smile back. Some days, she was the only one who could keep Marja going. She simply refused to consider what would happen if she wasn’t there to pick her up. She looked around. Wahoo World looked weird at night. The park was open until quite late in the evening most days, about 10 or so. Left a few hours for janitors to clean up the place before the park was closed for the night. The lights remained on, but no-one was there. The once bustling park was empty, the cacophony of the crowds replaced by a haunting quiet.

The two headed back to the pizzeria, not letting the chilly winds get to them when they saw a figure hanging outside the door, having what looked like a smoke. He noticed the two and gave a nod as they approached the older looking Inkling boy. Ve approached him first as he spoke up. “Y’all the new guards ‘ere?” They nodded as he took another drag, wincing as Marja did a cough from the lingering smoke. “Sorry.”

Marja let out a tiny growl. “Who are you anyway?”

“The janitor, missy.” He replied coolly, before offering the keys. “Here to pass da keys to y’all lasses. Company don’ like giving their work’rs spares. Paranoia and all ‘dat.”

Ve took the keys and offered a little smile. “Thank you mister!” He gave a shrug, before taking one final breath of smoke and stomping out the cigarette.

“No worries. By the by, keep yer heads on in da night. Not that there’s any paranormal BS or nothin’, but night can be darn’ creepy in this year’ park. Keep focus’d and yer’ll be gold’n, alrigh’?”

“Alright. Thank you, sir,” Marja nodded politely. He huffed his response and began to shamble off into the distance, the two girls heading inside the building. A few lights were on and the chairs were neatly stacked on the tables. On the main stage was the Squid Sister robots and the Marina animatronic, frozen in place with their never-ending smiles. Marja wouldn't deny the shiver she got from their stare. “Jeez, I don’t know if them not moving is better or worse. Who even likes animatronics?”

“Some people do...they like robots a LOT…” Ve gulped, “When you’re locked in a deep cavern in the dark, you get...desperate.”

“I’m… not even gonna ask.” Marja sighed before patting Ve’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get set up. We have a loooooong night tonight.” She commented, tugging at her collar. As it was standard for legal reasons, both ladies were dressed in uniform. They both wore light blue button shirts with a black tie done neatly up (or in Marja’s case, none at all. She hated ties with a passion.) The PizzaWurld logo was on both their shoulders, not exactly doing favours for comfortableness. Beyond that they both wore tight black pants complete with fresh looking shoes. The finishing touch was the company badge that shone brightly on the chest area. Only took Ve a good two hours of polishing to make them gleem.

Her Octoling partner nodded as the pair made their way to the office. Ve would never admit it up front, but she thought her friend looks good in the uniform. It’s not often the Inkling wears tight clothing, for reasons she considered in poor taste to consider at this moment. They made their way to their little home for the night guard shift. The Inkling sat down in a chair with a sigh, the crutches getting a little draining on their lengthy trip. She leaned them against the doorway to the bathroom, “Sallie was to leave us a message, yeah? Where is it?”

And as if by magic, a ringing sound filled the air. Ve jumped, the sound filling her with mild dread, while Marja looked down at the desk the monitors were stationed on. It was a small black telephone, ringing in a hollow fashion. It was joined on the desk by a computer monitor, screens, an old keyboard and an ashtray that had seen some major use. And for some reason, a random Marie Plushie was sitting on the desk, holding what looked like a small blue can, whatever that was. All in all, Marja was amused - the phone was just a bit old fashioned. Taking a small breath, she pressed the Playback button on the device.

“...Uh, hello!” came Sallie’s voice, “Hello, girls! Welcome to your brand new job at PizzaWurld! This probably goes without saying, but you are the night guards in charge of watching over my lovely establishment between 12 AM to 6 AM. I hope you two had a big nap before coming here!”

Marja almost face palmed since that is exactly what they DIDN’T do. They wanted to make sure they were ready to leave on time. She heard Ve do a mix of a sigh and a growl in frustration.

“Anyway, it’s your job to watch over the cameras. You know, to make sure no one is inside, ready to steal Callie’s microphone or anything. You’d be surprised what some people try to steal from here… So yeah, on the table there should be a monitor for the cameras. Sorry that you guys have to share, but hey! You can look out for another’s back if you need to check an area, so that’s a plus.”

Marja quickly flipped the cameras up. Sure enough, they had a view of most of the building, from the Main Stage to the Back Room. Right now, the camera was focused on the Main Stage - Callie, Marie and Marina were standing there, unmoving and dead.

The pre-recorded message continued. “You can view all the rooms just by tapping the different camera locations. Oh, and apologies for the Kitchen camera. That one still needs repairs, but the audio is still functional so there’s that. What else- Oh, yes! Next to the doors are the light and barrier buttons. There are two blind spots outside your doors, hence the lights. If you feel like something is there, just give that button a click and it’ll light up like a firecracker! N-Not literally, of course. I do make it a point to keep my dear employees safe.”

“Why don’t I believe that?” Marja huffed.

“One more thing - the animatronics like to...move about. Sometimes. The reason for this is to keep their joints from locking up due to inactivity. So every now and then you’ll see one or two just walking about at night. If you see one in person, just let them do their thing. Trying to tamper with the animatronics is really dangerous without proper knowledge of the robots, as well as a one way ticket to get fired and you guys don’t want that. Also if you’re wondering why Marina is on the Main Stage and not the side one, let’s just say her size and Pearl’s lack-off size has led to some unfortunate... midnight collisions. So at night, Pearl has the Side Stage all to herself, the lucky girl~ Hmm, oh yeah. The building has a limited power supply to save some electric costs. You can see the meter on the camera monitor, so try to keep the batteries stocked over the night, okay?”

“Man, we had more electricity in the Domes…” Ve shivered.

“What was that?” Marja asked.

“Nothing!”

“Anyway!” the voice said, “That’s all! Watch the building, check the cameras, piece of cake! Or pizza in our case, hehe! Have a good night and I’ll talk with you lovelies tomorrow!”

And with that, the phone clicked off. Marja sighed, something about this just felt like it was going to take some time. She clicked on the cameras and gave it a quick sweep; Main Stage was fine, Back Room was fine, Dining Room was fine. Kitchen...black screen, with ‘CAMERA OFFLINE’ emblazoned on the screen in white text. Though it also says “Audio Available” so there was that. Side Stage was fine, the East and West corridors to the office were fine. There was even a camera in what looked like a janitor closet, complete with cleaning supplies.

All in all, everything was fine. 

“...Right, well I’m gonna take a nap!” Marja cackled, “This job’s gonna be EASY money, Ve. I just know it.”

“I don’t…” Ve gulped, but Marja had already pulled her cap over her eyes and began to snooze. Ve sighed, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Part of her wanted to complain, but even her eyes had the feeling of tiredness underneath them. Plus… she liked Marja. And Marja sleeping was one of the few times the Inkling looked peaceful. She didn’t have the heart to wake her friend, as much as she wanted to give her a quick kiss on the forehead, instead loading up some Slappy Squid to play instead. One of those games were you just mashed over and over again - simplistic, but helped to kill time. Every now and then her eyes checked the camera monitor, but nothing happened. Just stationary robot idols. After a while, even she stopped paying attention to the security and was more invested in her game, not noticing the two animatronics looking at the camera. Staring.

Ve soon finished level 1337 when she checked the monitor one more time, before her eyes widened in shock. “Oh my gosh… it’s already 3 AM?! I swear I only played for a few minutes!”

“Ahh!” Marja yelped as she woke from her slumber, “What? Where am I? What time is it?! How long have I been out?”

“3…” Ve blinked, “It’s already 3AM. Just three more hours to go!”

“3AM…?” Marja asked silently. She blinked, then again...and something dawned on her, “Shit, I haven’t taken my meds!”

“Meds?”

“My Citralopram, Ve!” Marja winced as her partner flinched, lowering her head. “S-Sorry, just… I-I need to take them, okay?”

“H-Hey, no worries. Do you have them now?” The girl lifted a small prescription box. “Good, I’ll fetch you a glass of water quickly, alright?” Seeing a nod, Ve left the office, heading towards the Kitchen.

Now alone, Marja rubbed her face before deciding to check the camera monitor, showing the main stage. But something was different as she squinted her eyes on the screen. “...Where’s Callie?”

Ve hummed shakily to herself as she waddled down the corridor in the dim light. She didn’t like office clothing like this, it was always restrictive. And considering some of the stuff she wore in the past, she hated the feeling and the memories that came with it. Always preferred loose clothing like jumpers and skirts; her favourite being Marja’s sweater. Her black shoes made soft clacking sounds as she rounded the corner and got into the kitchen. It was dark and eerie, devoid of sound and light. People should be here, making treats. But there was no such people. Ve gulped to try steady her nerves;

“Come on, Ve...you can do this. Do it for Marja…”

And she ambled across the room to the sink. Grabbing a clean glass from the cupboard, Ve quickly drew some water from the tap into the glass. It probably tasted stale or sulfur-y, but it’d do. Turning to leave, she walked forward and-

“ _He-e-e-e-llo! The-er-ere!_ ”

Ve screamed in shock, barely avoiding dropping the glass, looking up at the loud voice. It was the robotic Callie, staring down on her inside the kitchen. She was awake! Awake and staring! She towered over the small Octoling, who barely reached Callie’s knees. Callie was arched over, arms by her side; her frozen smile still stretched on her plastic face.

“Uh...h-hello, Calbot?” Ve asked, voice quivering. Why did she have to lean so close?!

“ _Wha-a-a-a-t are you doing in the kitchen, si-i-illy?_ ” Robo Callie asked, her voice tinny and stifled, “ _Thi-i-s isn’t a funtime ar-r-r-ea!_ ”

“N-No…” Ve gasped, “I’m the night guard, I was just gettin’ some water…”

“ _Awww, you su-u-ure?_ ” Robo Callie sparked, “ _I wanna play a ga-a-a-a-me! Do you wanna pla-a-a-a-y?_ ”

“No thanks, I gotta...uh, job to do and a-all!” Ve panicked, “B-Bye!” and sprinted out of the kitchen. She didn’t even bother checking back to see if the robot followed or whatever and bee-lined straight for the office.

Marja was too busy searching for said Callie bot when Ve almost crashed into the office, making her help in surprise. “G-GAH?! F-Fricking CARP Ve, you almost gave me a heart attack!” She rubbed her face before noticing the slight trembling in her partner’s body. “Hey, y-you okay?”

The Octoling took a deep breath before slightly nodding. “Y-Yeah. Just, uhh… C-Callie gave me a hello and… y-yeah. Oh, here’s your w-water!” She handed the thankfully not-spilled glass to her partner. Marja nodded her thanks before taking two pills and gulping down the beverage. Ve decided to check the cameras as she waited, mainly on the Main Stage.

Callie was back in place, smiling her not-moving and totally not-creepy smile. Marie hasn’t moved and Marina… was gone. But after some checking, she found the Octo Idol in the back stage, wondering about the room in an almost zombie-like trance. Still, better way over there than anything.

“Ahh, that’s great.” Marja exclaimed, setting the glass down. She peered over her partner’s head, where her smile quickly slipped off. “That is not where Marina should be.”

“Sallie did say they wander about...but, why?” Ve mused while checking the time. 4 AM now, not much longer. She relaxed back into a chair, Marja not taking her eyes off. “Come on, we have two hours left. Let’s just k-keep watch.”

“Alright, alright.” The Inkling sighed before they both got to work. Thankfully nothing too major happened. They heard many clanking and crashes in the kitchen, presumably from Callie and Marina walking towards the office, but the former ended up residing in the janitor closet for an hour or so. Both girls took a lengthy blink before a clock tolled, jumping the two awake!

They had reached 6 AM. Marja checked the camera to see all the robots back into their original spaces, staring forward. Marina was back, the Back Room looked untouched, and Pearl was still inactive. The power level was at a decent 48% after the whole night. Ve almost brought up the fact they did nothing and that half the power was basically gone, but neither were awake enough to care. Stumbling like in enemy ink, the duo left the establishment to get home, and some much needed sleep.

“ _L-L-Let’s play a-again!!_ ” Both girls eyed the Callie bot as those words echoed out, neither comforted by the cheery tone she used as they left the building, a shiver of fear washed over the two.


	3. Second Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just gotta keep at work when it pays the bills. Even when that job entails murderous robots gunning for your office. The two girls continue with their shift, a little more aware of what their night will entail.

Waking up for Marja had always been an odd experience, even after moving in with her Ocotling. Maybe just years and years of experience on the floor or with scars had gotten to her more than she expected. So she was the first one to wake up, only to realise Ve was cuddling up to her closely while on the girl’s bed. Groggy at first, she soon felt heat rise to her cheeks from the closeness of the snoozing girl. Next thing her eye caught was the fact she was still in her night guard uniform. It appeared that the night shift took a bigger toll on them than Marja thought. Explained why she was slightly uncomfortable too, all the tight clothes scrunched up to her skin.

She looked down at the sleeping Octoling. Her hair, often done up in a fine magenta ponytail, was now loose and spilling down her shoulders. Marja couldn’t help but blush as she studied her snoozing companion. Her fair skin, her soft snores, it was...certainly something. She inched closer, holding her tight and running her hands through the Octoling’s silky smooth tentacles. The motions were enough for Ve to slowly awaken, yawning cutely and looking up at Marja with her innocent eyes.

“Hey babe,” Marja grinned, to which her partner returned.

===

It took them at least half an hour to freshen up and recollect themselves. Getting out of bed, throwing off the tight, sweat-laden clothing to wash in a bit, and having a shower. Even if Ve took way too long to have a shower. They had a twisted sort of breakfast, the Inkling nibbling on some toast while the Octoling munched on some cereal. Pearl Crowns to be exact, cereal shaped like crowns.

Jeez, no wonder people preferred eating at Crusty Sean’s.

“Soooo...” Marja began, licking some stray jam off her lip. Ve looked up to her, cheeks full of breakfast and a curious look in her eyes. “What do you think of our job?”

After a quick swallow, she spoke up. “It’s… weird? I mean, there are really odd jobs underground in the domes, but… I don’t know. I just have a weird feeling about this place.”

“You don’t say, if you’re right in the damn robots movin’...” Marja grumbled, swallowing a chunk of toast, “You don’t think they’re...haunted or anything, right? Do ghosts even exist? Have we seen any ghosts?”

Ve contemplated this, idly playing with her spoon. “It’s hard to tell. It could just be very poorly built robots that slightly malfunction, but… the atmosphere just?” She shivered a little, unable to think of words for the feeling of unease in her chest. “Think we should ask Sallie? She is the manager.”

“Yeah, they couldn’t make it LESS inviting now, could they?” Marja asked, before a brief stare into empty space, “...That’s...yeah that’s probably accurate, come to think of it. Looks like a sketchy place. But…” she sighed, “It’s payin’ the bills.”

“Yeah…” Ve sighed, ironically similar to how Marja just did, “Well, let’s keep at it, yeah? We know what to expect this time. A-And I know we can handle anything t-together!” She gives her partner the traditional Veemo smile, something that her partner couldn’t help but give her own to. With that, the two finished their meals and prepared to head to PizzaWurld to hopefully get the answers itched in their minds.

===

It was a good idea that Ve suggested another visit to the Pizzeria before work, both ladies in more casual attire as they walked. A better look at the interior, and they needed to ask Sallie a few...questions, that they didn’t get the night before. Wahoo World was still as it had been the day before, locked in joyful screams and slowly draining wallets. Man, 3000 coins for a soda? Ripoff. Marja swore she could see that young Inkling they scared off a few days back. She was ambling through, candy floss in hand. Marja gulped, the guilt she felt from traumatising her slowly flooding back to her. At least, what guilt she felt in the times where she wasn’t screaming in agony from her leg being nearly chopped off, but still.

As they entered, the pizzeria still looked as it did the day and night before. Still many children littering the tables eating pizza. Still the brown-haired boy in purple shirt rolling around with the small squishies. And Sallie was still there in what Marja secretly hoped was just her work dress. If one could even call it that.

“W-Welcome back!!” Ve jumped as the girls noticed the Callie animatronic staring at them for a brief moment, then returning her attention on her adoring crowd. The owner of the robots noticed this and turned her attention to the pair.

“Ah, hello my lovelies~!” She greeted in a cheery mood, strolling to the pair. “From the looks of things, you two did a stella job last night! Keep it up and you’ll have that paycheck in no time! I may even offer some overtime, hehehe!”

Marja was frankly not sure how to even respond to that. More money or less potential death? Hmm…

“Th-Thank you,” Ve said, keeping up a calm tone, “Uh, we were just scouting the place for tonight’s shift, uh...we wanna ask a few questions, if that’s okay.”

“As long as it’s not about my height or age, haha!” She joked, before she cleared her throat and straightened a little. “Alright, how about we head to the office for more privacy? I can even have someone make you two some drinks if you prefer?”

“No drinks. Just questions.” Marja cut off with a tint of bark to her voice, to which the girl simply nodded and led them to the office. Ve felt a gaze bared to the back of her head but shoved that thought away as she followed, no one noticed the Callie bot staring right at the Octoling.

“SO!” Sallie chirped, sitting the two down at the office desk and taking a quick sip of some cola, “What would you like answered, dearies?”

Both girls felt their throats suddenly go dry, as if some invisible entity is forcing them shut. Ve shook her head a bit before taking the lead. “We have some, uh...concerns about the animatronics. W-Who made them?”

Sallie’s eyes seemed to flicker, just an instant of a second, before she answered. “Well, they are my creations. Though I suppose you could say they are the product of me and an acquaintance, though we have lost touch for years now. She, uh...yeah. She’s sorta gone now.”

“Oh,” Ve sighed, “I am so sorry, Miss…”

“It’s fine, it was years ago…” Sallie shrugged, “So, what else do you have in mind?”

Marja played with her wrist before speaking up. “Why do they… m-move about?” Sallie raised an eyebrow, about to state the obvious before the Inkling clarified, “I-I mean, I know they lock up. But why does it look… like they are exploring, o-or searching?”

“Oh that’s just part of their programming,” Sallie explained with a casual flip of her tentacles, “We can’t really turn ‘em off for...well, a number of reasons, so their routines and processes run all night too! They just look for any kids they fear have wandered off and try to get them back to the main stage.”

“So...what happens if they catch you?”

Sallie looked a bit grim, “Well, we’ve had a few...bugs. You know, glitches and such that comes with typical technology. And, well…” She licked her lips, as if searching for a way to use her words. “They sometimes mistake older, more developed people as… animatronic skeletons without a suit. Very stupid, I know. I know.”

“And what, they like to put people in suits?” Marja questioned, staring into the purple eyes. Ve meanwhile played with her hair until a tint of grey caught her attention, under the desk.

“...Yeah!” Sallie nodded, “I wouldn’t worry, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as you make sure they don’t get into the office. And with the doors and lights, that should be an easy task for two people!”

“...How many people have you lost to ‘em?”

“None!” Sallie got oddly defensive, “It’s okay, girls. I understand this is all a little...scary, but would I be saying all this if it was a genuine, lethal problem? Heavens, no! We take security very seriously around these parts! We’ve taken every precaution we can to keep the little squiddies safe, you know?”

Marja almost scoffed but kept it silent under her breath. “Is that brown-hair dork in the baby area one of the precautions?”

“Come on lovelies, this is a legitimate business. You think this place would be running this smoothly if we had incidents revolving around deaths?!” Sallie almost shouted, but took a breath and smiled. It almost felt like the ones the robots give… “So there, this place is 100% safe and kid friendly. Is there anything else you two want to know?” When both the girls shook their heads, she stood up, dusting her skirt off. “Very well! I hope you two enjoy your next shift tonight! Tah ta~!” With that, the short manager skipped out the office, swaying her skirt and hips out the door.

Marja sighed, heaving herself up on her crutches and getting ready to leave. She turned when she noticed a lack of Veemo alongside her, looking back at the desk, “You good, Ve?”

“Y-Yeah!” Ve said quickly, eyeing the vent underneath the desk as she rose to join her, “I just...think we’ve got something to look at during the night.”

===

Once more Marja and Ve found themselves walking to the building in the dark of night, though much earlier than the previous night. Both were back in uniform, the tight, uncomfortable, tacky uniform. Needless to say, they both could not wait to get this week over with. As they approached, they noticed Mike outside once again, though lacking in the smoke of this encounter. Instead he sipped on a drink, probably coffee from the look of the cup.

“Heyo,” Marja said dryly, flipping a hand up to vaguely point at a wave.

“Evenin’ girls. Back fer round two, eh? You’re more stubbor’n than two kids on a Turfin’ battle.” He greeted, with a small smile. Ve couldn’t help but giggle, making the two face her.

“S-Sorry, just… y-your accent.” She giggled again, making Marja roll her eyes.

Mike simply shook his head. “Rude much, eh heh. So you two ready fer da night? Got your wipper-doodles in check?”

“No I went before we set off,” Marja snarked, “Don’t worry, we’re cool. We’ve got a good idea of what’s gonna happen.”

“I doubt that missy…” Mike sighed, before holding out the keys. “Jus’ be careful, ya hear me?” Ve gave a quick thanks to the worker and the pair headed inside. Since it was just past 11pm, they had plenty of time before the robots became active. Valuable prep time to prepare themselves.

“Okay, so pills…” Marja placed her citalopram on the desk, “A six pack of bottled water…coffee, some cakes, a lunchbox full of sandwiches, a flashlight with spare batteries and a...flamingo plush.” She stated with confusion in her voice, eyeing her partner with a raised eyebrow.

“Oops,” Ve shrugged, flashing a cheeky grin, “Mispacked that.” Marja gave an eyeroll, but both saw the small smile on her face. Yet, Ve once again looked back at the vent she noticed in the afternoon. Now she was not a stranger to vents, Octavio knows you can’t go two minutes in a dome without seeing one. Yet what caught her attention was how big it was, almost like she could crawl in it.

Curiosity won out as she knelt on the floor, under the table and peered inside. The first thing she noticed was the coldness blown from it which almost made her flinch. Even colder than the stares of the robots. Still, maybe this could be another tool to use against them? 

Marja was just about finished unpacking the bag when she noticed her partner on all fours staring at the vent. She also now had a really good idea of how tight the clothes are with her current view point. “V-Ve?! W-What are you-?!” She sputtered, cheeks flaming. And why wasn’t she looking away?!

Ve didn’t twist her head, focused on the vent in front of her. “I wonder...” She suddenly became a splotch of ink before showing her octopus form, sliding into the vent’s bars. The coldness felt like it increased to freezing, forcing her back to her human form and bumped her head on the roof of it. “Ow!”

“Ve!” Marja called out, kneeling by the vent and looking into it. The vent blended into inky blackness that was impossible to see through more than a few metres, “Ve!” she repeated, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just… b-bumped my head is all.” She replied, rubbing her head while looking into the darkness.

“What on earth are you doing in there?!” Marja demanded.

“I noticed it earlier, when we were talking to Sallie. I… I think we could use it to help in our shifts!” Ve called back, already slightly shivering to the temperature drop. “C-Can you hand me a flashlight? Please?”

Marja responded by loading up one of the flashlights with batteries, turning it on and then throwing it through the vent plate and down the vent shaft. It clattered around, spraying dashes of light this way and that, before collapsing into a gentle roll and inching towards the Octoling. She grabbed it with her free hand, thankful to hold onto something that wasn’t freezing cold metal, and shone it downrange. A ventilation fan was at the far end of the vent, but not before a number of turns revealed themselves from the blackness. The air was cold and choked with dust, which also patted the face of the Octoling and got into her eyes. This was simply intolerable. 

Ve coughed harshly, “Okay, I think I’m good now…” and she turned to crawl back down the vent towards the grate. She threw the flashlight through, then turned into her squishy form and swam back in the office. She plopped back into human form, sighing, coughing and weary.

A worried Marja grunted in pain as she arched over to pick her up, the leg wound protesting vividly at the action. She placed Ve on the other chair and dusted her down, “What did you do that for? No-one’s supposed to be in there apart from dust particles.”

“Well then why is it that large and close to the ground?” Ve asked, to which Marja took a few seconds to shrug, “Well, if anything it may be a decent hiding spot if anything… got in.” The sentence unintentionally made both girls shiver, though the Inkling helped her partner up. “S-Sorry for worrying you.”

“Ve...you know I...I…” Marja gibbered. She didn’t get very far before the phone rang a second time, spooking the tar out of the both of them. Deciding this talk can wait, Ve was the one to push the play button this time around.

“Hello? Hello, hello? Well, heya my lovelies and welcome to Night 2!” Sallie’s voice rang out from the phone. “How’re ya doing tonight? Good? Great! So, got some stuff I wanna tell you first, stuff I didn’t say this afternoon. First of all, I noticed your Octarian friend checking out the vents while we spoke in the office.”

“S-She noticed?!” Ve sputtered, heat rising to her cheeks. Embarrassed doesn’t even explain how she felt at the moment. Marja almost snickered. Almost.

“Now I should note some things about it. First of all, it is not recommended, like at ALL, to go inside the vents during the night!” Marja shot Ve a small glare, which she shrank away from. “This is not because of any major danger, but it is dusty and cold. Staying in the vents can be an easy way to make you sick and nobody likes a sick cutiepie like you two!”

“Cutiepie?” Marja muttered, feeling no comfort from how Sallie’s tone used the nickname for her and her Octoling partner.

“And as of ‘where’ the vents go, they connect from your office to the back room, side stage and the kitchen. Don’t worry, it is very rare that the Animatronics will attempt to crawl inside the vents, unless of course they felt like a child was inside them.”

“...Do I count?” Ve asked. Marja simply patted her head with small rubs, causing the girl to give off a childish pout. “Marjaaaaaa.”

“Anywho, same routine as last night” Sallie continued the pre-recorded call. “Keep an eye on the girls and make sure the place is safe. Oh, one word of advice for the, uhh, Pearl Robot. I think it might be her lust for stardom, but the more the camera is off her, the more active she becomes. So be sure to give her some TLC, if you know what I mean, hehe! Alright, that should be everything! Goodnight, girls!”

The phone clicked off, and the shift began. Marja sighed, there was a VERY obvious feeling that this job wasn’t the best. Maybe they SHOULD have gone for that McDanios job. She checked the monitors again, looking at the main stage. This time, the robots had dropped all pretence of staying static, and Callie had already left the stage and was stumbling around the Dining Area. Her bright eyes lit up the dark, shining overturned chairs and leftover party hats with the light. She turned to face the camera, then shifted and turned towards the Back Room. Marina was simply looking around and Marie stayed motionless. Swapping to the Side Stage, a curtain had been put over the platform which blocked the girls from seeing Pearl, if she was even still there.

“Well, at least they’re staying away?” Ve muttered, staying close to her friend’s side and eyeing the camera.

“Yeah, but for how long?” Marja countered, neither girls wanting the answer. Things went smoothly for the start, paying attention to the cameras while they had some light talking. They both even let out a small, terrified giggle when the Callie bot sounded like she tripped in the kitchen, causing a massive crash. They imagined the Marie bot would sigh flippantly at such, if she were even operational. Every now and then, they turned their attention to the Side Stage. Still had the pretty purple curtain that covered the stage. It had a certain airiness that felt unnatural.

2 AM struck the clock, both girls rubbed their eyes in irritation. Yeah, turns out staring at a screen, at night for six hours, wasn’t exactly doing favours for their eyeballs. Still they pressed on, which is when Ve blinked in confusion. “Where’s Marina? I thought she was in the back room?” The Octoling tapped away on the tablet while Marja frowned. She rolled her chair to the east door and hit the lights. Nothing. Next she tried the west door li-

“ _H-H-Hello!!_ ” Marja jumped back in surprise as the colossal Marina animatronic was just inches away from her face. She was taller than Callie! She too was covered in chunky plastic suit parts, her endoskeleton showing plainly through the gaps in the cheap material. She stared down upon the two with her LED eyes shining brightly from the darkness, a droning and metallic sound announcing her arrival. She spoke again, “ _L-Let’s get t-to know each other, l-little one!_ ”

Ve practically screamed as she slammed herself into the door button, the heavy metal barrier slamming down with a satisfying crash. Marja groaned as she attempted to get back up on her crutches, the Octoling assisting her back to her two feet. “T-That was too close M-Marja!”

“You’re damn right it was!” Marja shouted, pawing at the monitor panel, “One more sec and she would’ve pounced for sure! Those things are 100% gonna kill us if they get in here, you’ve seen the movies, right?!”

Ve made a face at that but nodded in agreement, “Either way, l-let’s make sure they never get in. I don’t think you could hide fast enough if they did yet.” She trailed off, looking at the still-healing leg her partner has. A moment passed before metallic footsteps echoed away; looks like Marina had given up for now and went to wonder somewhere else. “I wonder why they don’t wait at the door. She knew we were in here...”

Marja gave a half shrug “Don’t know and I frankly don’t care. Just makes it a little blessing for us.” With that the two resumed checking the cameras for another few hours. Luckily it seemed all the robots were content wondering about the main room and back area. The Marina bot even picked up what seemed to be an Off the Hook premium headset of some sort before they swapped cameras. Though after some searches, Marja frowned, “Ve, know where Callie is?”

She didn’t answer, instead getting off her butt and flicking on the two door lights. No murderous, colossal metal abominations of idols at their doorstep. “She’s not in a blind spot. Maybe check the kitchen?”

“Does she even go there?” Marja asked, checking the cameras. The Kitchen camera was still out, of course, but she could absolutely hear something within the static. Faint sounds of movement, and stronger sounds of clattering pans, coming from within. She switched around a few more cameras, and eventually found Callie staring into space motionless in the storage closet just a little bit down the hall. But Marina was nowhere on camera. Marja made a strange face, “Marina in the kitchens...never saw her as a big eater like that…”

Ve plopped back down next to her friend, “Is there any point trying to make logic here? They are robots...” She fiddled with her tie, tiredness slowly creeping to her eyes. “Say… a-are we forgetting something? I-I feel like we are.”

Marja raised an eyebrow to that, flipping the cameras over and over. “Marie is still on stage… Callie is- uhhh, glitching?” Said robot was slightly twitching randomly. She couldn’t even consider it creepy, just more-so really, really odd. “Marina… yep, still in the food area.” More tablet taps. “And here is- oh where has Pearl gone?!”

“ _NIGHT GUARDS!!!_ ” came a screeching voice, “ _I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!!_ ”

Marja got a second of silence in before she bolted for the cameras. She checked the Side Stage. The curtains were parted...and Pearl was gone. She quickly flipped between cameras; main hall, nope. Backstage, Callie. Kitchen, still Marina. Left Hallway...oh no. Pearl was running down the corridor, her run a stumbling, feral sprint towards the office door. A look of excitation in her eyes. Ve could hear Marja scream, “Close the door close the door CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE IT CLOSE IT!!!!” before it finally registered and she threw herself at the control panel. She slammed into the wall and ragdolled to the ground, looking up. Pearl was right in front of them, her usual static smile somehow even more terrifying than it normally is! She skidded to a stop, lunged for the two...and collided with the steel door as it slammed down in front of her. The collision made such a dreadful clang, followed by a squeak as she slowly slid down it. Vee could hear a jumble of metal clangs as the being got to its feet...and then more thunderous bangs as the small robo-gremlin bashed on the door in rage.

“ _I’LL GET YOU…_ ” Robo Pearl cursed as her heavy footsteps slowly stomped down the corridor, “ _NEXT TIME…_ ” The thumps of the angry robot slowly died down, both girls breathing heavily, hearts thumped like they were at an Off the Hook concert on the front seats. Ve slowly climbed to her feet, stumbling slightly to her partner.

“Ve…” Marja shivered, holding her close, “A-Are you okay?”

“I…” Ve stammered back, “I-I...I think I just splatted myself.”

“...Eeew!” Marja whined, approaching a sob but not quite coming close. She stared deftly at the clock; it was 5:45. 25% power. That was weird. They had like, 55% a moment ago! Was Pearl’s banging on the door the cause of this loss of power? Well...great. Just great. Gingerly, Ve got to her feet and checked the cameras - Pearl was back on the Side Stage, sitting still, sparking. Marina had finally left the Kitchen and now rejoined the stage alongside Marie and Callie. It seemed to be over. They slowly resumed staring into nothing, waiting for the day shift to approach.

Soon enough, the clock struck true. The night was finally over. Both girls stood up, ready to leave when Marja’s nose twitched. “Wh… What’s that smell?”

“...”

“...Oh my cod did you **actually**...” Needless to say, that led to a very awkward journey back to Ve’s apartment for the two girls.


	4. Shadow Whispers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night 3 starts. Having prepared heavily from the previous two nights, the two girls are absolutely certain they know what to do now. That it'll be a cinch from this point on. But it IS Night 3. So a certain headliner animatronic begins to stirr...

Marja smiled as she plucked the tin of beans off of the shelf. DukTari-brand Good Beans. Cheapest baked beans on the market but not half bad as long as you didn’t mind a little salt. Well, a LOT of salt. She placed them in the vaguely full basket, turned to the side and sighed. Ve was in the toy section again.

“Ve, we don’t have the spare cash.”

“But look at him!” Ve pouted, showing off the Judd plush, “He looks so cute! Pleeeeeeease?”

Oh Cod she was doing the pleading face. Oh, she shed a tear. Oh boy Marja’s hearts couldn’t handle it. She sighed, knowing she was gonna have to skip on the Mountain View eight pack again. Eh, worth it, she figured, “...Put it in the basket.”

One happy squeal and cuddle later, the two continued the shopping trip. It was clear the nights would be getting more difficult the further along they went, so both girls decided to re-double their effort into their supplies. Like… a Judd plushie. Seriously, if Ve ever had her own kids, they could probably take over Inkopolis with sheer cuteness alone.

Thankfully Marja was there to keep them both on track, her basket full of food, flashlights, very cheap walkie talkies that five year olds still went crazy over despite phones being a thing. She was also thankful that her hard, uncomfortable crutches were no longer needed. Yes, she still had the occasional limp, but she’d take it. She somedays felt a burden to Ve as it was, never mind her having to help her to the toilet and back. So this was a refreshing change, for sure. She caught the Octoling eye out of the corner of her own vision, and she simply nodded as if to say, ‘I’m fine.’

‘...But for how long?’ she thought, visions of the robotic sisters screaming through her head. She shook her head to clear the thoughts, “Right...one more thing on the list, I feel. We need some...energy drinks. Hmm,” she shivered. Neither were true drinkers of energy drinks. Ve wasn’t a huge fan of them. Said they reminded her of the awful, stinging drinks from those Dome things. Marja tried one of those once. Tasted like the cleaning wipes you get from some restaurants. She was hoping to the Great Zapfish these canned things were tastier. With names like “Beast”, “Hardcore Xtreme” and “AAA ENERGY”, she wasn’t hopeful.

“I have mild concern for the company… They sound just as fishy as Grizzco.” Ve commented, looking around for other things to add to their extensive shopping list. She felt her cheeks flush a bright red when Marja half-threw some new underwear on the pile, last night being one of the most embarrassing nights in her life. And she has done a lot of stupid things that only a few people know of. Actually, maybe she should give said people a call. Just in case.

“Hmm...I have, no idea what flavours there are. What’re these names?” Marja looked confused and disgusted at the cans, “Shocking Xtreme? Jumpstart Juice? Florgnnath Fruits? What even ARE these?”

As she mumbled, a figure to her right slowly turned around. A male Inkling, brown tentacles swept to the side, clad in red shirt and a...a lab coat? Alright. He adjusted his glasses, “Uh, excuse me? I could offer some help with flavours if you’d like.”

“Uh…” Marja said as Ve skipped off, phone in hand, “Okay?”

“Well,” the Inkling picked some cans off of the shelf, “If you’re looking for a simple flavour, you can get the AAA Energy Masictal. That’s mastic flavour, very refreshing. You want cherry, there’s Beast Crimson. Oooh, there’s a kiwi one with Hardcore Summer Fruits.”

“...Such violent names. Uhh, I guess the Beast Crimson? I like cherries on the tops of ice-creams we sometimes get!” She chirps, her partner nodded and grabbed a few cans. The Octoling was half distracted on her phone, furiously typing away.

“And I’ll get...that Hardcore one…” Marja shrugged, quickly placing the cans into the basket. She turned to the strange man, “Thanks, I guess.”

“Glad to be of service,” the Inkling smiled, before turning and walking towards the toy section, “...Now, where are the SOEF guns?”

The Octoling let out a small sigh, her partner turned to her with a look. “You good?”

“Yeah, just texting some friends of mine. I wished she would take this seriously though...” Her phone showed some text conversation, which was… spammed with meme GIFs. She had to admit, while Ve is usually weird this person beat her by a ranked KO.

“Which friends?”

“Uh…” Ve sweated briefly, “N-Not important! Just some...people…” She put her phone away, seemingly done with the conversation, “It’s nothing to worry about!” and she flashed one of her trademark cheeky grins that made Marja’s heart melt so easily. It was honestly unfair some days and the girl knew it.

“Anyway, think we got enough for the shift?” The cyan girl asked, showing their gathered supplies. The Octoling did a quick look over and nodded in approval, so the two decided to check out. One employee who was clearly not being paid enough with a smile so forced it look like a crowbar would be needed to remove it later, the two walked out holding a bag each. Ve also had the Judd plush cuddled to her side with her free hand.

Marja had a sudden envy for the stuffed toy.

===

Night fell. Wahoo World was becoming a bit of a boring sight to Marja by this point. It just felt so...eerie, late at night. No real lights on, blanketed in darkness, no snot-nosed brats and their children. The two met up with Mike once more outside, though nothing new was discussed, though he WAS confused they turned up an hour earlier than usual. He mentioned that he may be let off soon but apparently he knew of his fate. Such a weird guy. Also Ve decided to take her plush with her as well, probably a comfort tool. The toy did look good to cuddle, Marja mused.

Same building, same robots. Same threat of death. Neither of the girls felt comfortable staying with the robots longer than they should and quickly got set up in the office. They poured the supplies onto the table before giving them some sort of order. Energy drinks? Check. Snacks and basic food? Check. Walkie Talkies? Check. Flashlights? Check. Ve being adorable and cuddling the Judd plush like the inner 5 year old she is? Check, check, all the checks there. They were ready. Well, to an extent.

“I wonder what’s gonna go wrong this time,” Marja grumbled, eyeing the monitors, “Are they gonna get more aggressive or somethin’? I...probably shouldn’t jinx it, huh.”

“Yeah…” Ve sighed. There was a small pause, before a lightbulb appeared over her head, “Oh! There is something I wanted to look into today! Well, tonight. Whatever. The grates…”

Marja bent down, despite her protesting back, to eye the cold vent grate under the desk, “What of it?” 

Ve bent down as well, peering inside, “I think we should try explore them, see where they lead. I mean, isn’t it suspicious that we can crawl inside them surprisingly easily? Like...what if we’re supposed to?”

“Didn’t Heppy Smiley Face or whatever her name is say they were off-limits?”

“Yeah…” Ve pouted, “But, if we can follow them, I wanna see where they go. Maybe they’ll go somewhere cool! Like, a chocolate fountain! Or an arcade.”

“Or a crime scene…”

“Look, you can stay here if you like. But I’m gonna go!” And with that, the girl went into her octopus form through the grates. Marja could hear her land on the metal before crawling deep into the ventilation. She could barely hear the shuffle as Marja knelt down with pained groans to watch her venture into the vent. It was cold and dusty, like last time. She was slowly becoming frozen takoyaki in there. But she persisted, continuing to amble down the vents, soft metallic thumping resonating all the while.

Eventually, she bumped into something. Another grate. She had made it. She splooshed out of the grate and reassumed her human form. Looks like the back room from a quick glance, She could recognise the spare parts in the room and the power console that controlled the building’s lighting. They had yet to need this machine and she was silently thankful for it. She thought briefly that something this important wouldn’t be on the other side of the security office, but then again no one expected the robots to have murderous, child-like intent so…

She cleared her head, then gingerly stepped into the room. She had only seen it in some small fashion during the day. During the night, it was so much creepier. The spare heads lining the shelves served to stare at her, looking down from their mighty positions. Heads hollow, lacking eyes but staring all the same. Ve shivered in slight fear as she bumbled across the room towards the door. Gripping it with clammy hands, she slowly peeked through the doorway. Indeed, beyond the door was the Main Stage; she was in the Back Room, no doubt about it. The main three were still on stage, staring forward into nothing. She studied them closely. Callie was closest to her. With a sudden whirr, the robot turned her head towards the doorway, her rictus grin on display. Ve yelped in shock before she retreated back into the Back Room. She slapped herself mentally for that, and decided then would be a good time to make it back to the office.

Coming back the way she went, her head popped from underneath the desk, looking up to Marja listening to the pre-recorded phone call. If her face was anything to go off, it looked like Sallie was explaining nothing worthwhile. Her partner was almost asleep, clutching the Judd plush to her chest. 

"Well, he certainly never walked again after that! I told him not to use the washing machine like that! Hahaha...aaah, those darn salmons. Anyhoo, g'night girls!" The call ended, Marja had an almost comical look of plain boredom on her face making the Octoling girl giggle.

“You good, Mar?” Ve asked innocently.

“Sallie just spent 20 minutes explaining how to look after a salmon pet...” She left the statement in the air and hugged the plush a little tighter. “...Also the Judd teddy was a good call. He is soft.”

Ve nodded before she sat in her own office chair. It was almost 12am and she had to get into the zone. One quick check of the building and nothing new stuck out. Callie, Marie and Marina on the main stage, Pearl on the side, collapsed as always. You’d think she’d be fixed by now, but hey. That’s not what they were there for.

“So...nothing important?” Ve asked.

“Just some carp about the robots getting more active as the week goes on or somethin’...” Marja sighed, “We’d best prepare. We got everything, energy drinks, food, water, a schedule. We’re all set.” She looked up at the clock. It struck 12. Already she could hear Callie laugh into life, “And here we go…”

The girls had gone through enough that a general routine began to form. Keep an eye on Marina and Callie bots, check the doors if they felt they needed to. Flip to Pearl every now and then, keep their butts safe and sound. Ve wouldn’t admit it, but she was pretty sure it was only Marja’s company that made the night feel doable. If she were alone with Callie’s giggles, Marina’s soothing yet chilling voice and Pearl ramming the door at precisely 125 MPH, she’d probably break down on the spot. Maybe Marja felt the same as her? The thought was both flattering, yet frightening. Still this is something they needed to do, so the Octoling steeled her resolve to see the night through. She’d beat the robot idols at their own games and leave with her girlfriend in arms.

“ _I ca-a-a-a-n hear yo-o-o-u…_ ” came the robotic Marina’s soft, synthetic tone across the pizzeria, brushing delicately against the Octoling’s ears, “ _Wa-a-atching…_ ”

“Mama…” Ve sniffled, quickly rubbing her eyes less her partner finds out. Thankfully Marja was occupied with the tablet for the crappy cameras.

Marja tsked and tapped away at the screen, “Can’t they s-shut it for a second? Why don’t they have a mute option if they’re so advanced...” The girl wiped some idol sweat off her forehead, keeping her focus on the robots. A quiet giggle echoed throughout the building, both the girls shivered at the sense of dread that flowed over them.

“ _I-It’s time… f-f-find me i-if you c-can, hehe-hee..._ ” The air felt like it dropped to freezing with how tense the atmosphere became. Marja flicked over to the Main Stage… and Marie was gone. Vanished. The Inkling security guard sucked in a deep gust of air, frantic taps at the tablet in her shaky hands.

“No, no no no no no. W-Where is she?!”

“Marja, the side stage! We need to check on-” The robot Ve feared stormed down the hall, metallic thumping and crashing like a tank that bulldozed all in it’s way!

“ _Y-YOU WON’T S-S-STOP ME THIS T-TIME NIGHT G-GUARDS!!!!_ ” The Octoling barely managed to slam herself at the door button, loud, violent banging could be heard from the other side of the metal shield. She yelped and crawled back on her rear, panting hard at the imminent threat of an angry Pearl machine. “ _COME OUT, COME O-O-OUT!! LET’S SEE H-HOW SQUID YOU A-A-ARE!!!_ ”

Eventually the robot gave up, not before offering another death threat with a colourful pallet of curses on the side. Neither girls realized they were breathing like a rapid blaster, almost hyperventilating. And to make matters worse still...

“ _S-Still h-haven’t found me, hehe~... W-Where am I-I-I?..._ ” Marie cooed in the building. Light fog rolled in the office from the vent, the temperature dropped lower than ever before.

Marja was visibly shaking, her hands too frantic to properly use her device, “W-W-Wh… W-Why can’t t-they leave u-us al-alone?... W-Why?...” Fear gripped at her soul, clutching, uncompromising its icy grip. Ve shakily stood up, not too much better but enough to keep focused on the goal of surviving the night.

She walked over to her petrified friend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “C-Come on Marja, d-don’t stop now. W-We can do this i-if we j-just-”

“ _H-Hello girls~!_ ” Ve screamed in fright before shutting the right door on Callie, the robot inches away from getting into the office. If she had a functional face, the Octoling was sure the animatronic would be pouting. “ _P-Party poopers! I-I just want t-to play~!_ ”

“LEAVE US ALONE!!” Ve screamed, punching the metal door with a right fist. Her hand flared with pain but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now. When did her life get so difficult? Was it always this difficult? She took a few deep breaths before noticing her partner rocking back and forth in a panic attack.

Maybe a bad call if Ve looked back on it, but the Octoling shut all the doors down locking the two guards in their office. She didn’t care if she was wasting power right now. All she wanted to do was give her closest friend a massive hug. And a massive hug she gave. Marja almost leaned in on instinct, nuzzling close to the girl’s chest. Gibberish babbling was the only thing the Inkling could physically mutter in the embrace. Ve gently shushed her and stroked her hair.

“It’ll be alright. Shhhh...” She cooed, nuzzling against her partner. Even with the idols trying to break in and the temperature close to freezing, Ve felt a tender warmness that was only there close to her friend. A warmth of friendship that no amount of fear and despair could ever climb over. “W-We’ll get through this and be okay.”

The Inkling said nothing, she simply listened to the steady heartbeat of her Octoling companion. Well, the heartbeat was frantic and alerted, but it was probably better than her own. The couple stayed cuddled for a moment, a sweet moment before a metallic voice teared it in two.

“ _I-I’m almost th-there~~ D-Don’t l-l-lose me g-girls~_ ” Once more the Marie robot taunted, with a hint of playful amusement sowed into her voice. She was toying with them, messing with them. But Ve won’t let her, not anymore. She plucked the tablet from Marja’s lap and tapped away. ‘Searched’ wouldn’t be the right word to describe the intensity of Ve’s eyes. Hunted was more suitable, her golden yellow pupils scanning the area with soldier-like focus and intensity. A gaze only reserved for her worst of enemies.

She could still feel the helicopters’ rotors somewhere deep in her mind; the beat of the song, the hopes and dreams of everyone hanging onto her back, the weightlessness as she fell, the shockwaves of the beam destroying the threat to Inkopolis…

“Ve… V-Ve!...”

“H-Huh?!” She blinked before looking at her friend. Why did Marja look terrified? “M-Marja, what are-”

“The p-power! T-Turn it off, n-now!” She screamed, to which Ve then noticed. It was like a pin fell to a silent room, the universe crumbling in a single instant.

[1%]

The lights suddenly cut out to complete darkness, the last of their power run dry. Each door opened with no electric to support them, a gust of nightly wind sent goosebumps all over their vulnerable bodies. The worst part was the sound.

Nothing. Completely mute. They couldn’t even hear any birds or cars or any other signs of life. Just a quiet, soft wind from the vents… Neither dared to speak. Neither could barely move. Seconds felt like whole years with the pure dread and the unknown that smothered the two defenceless guards.And then, a soft, shuffling sound, down the corridor...towards the office.

Thump… Thump… Thump… Thump...

Marja cracked. She rushed to find one of the torches they had bought, shining it at the left-side window. Everything should have been fine. Nothing should have been off. The feeling of easiness should have been what they felt.

Except Marie was there. Missing her whole head!

Her bare head, free from the shackle of the plastic cover, was on full display. It was a nightmarish mish-mash of robotics and wires. Square in profile, with fake teeth lining a mockery of a maw. Her ears swivelled on ball joints, her LED eyes gone and replaced by two black voids with but the tiniest of pin-pricks staring back. There was no grin on her face anymore, just a deep gaze. Marja could swear she could hear something quiet, faint amongst the static in her voice.

“ _Sh...ill find y...she will...ke yo...suf...fer…_ ”

Marja snapped the light off and sat motionless, staring blankly into the distance. Every regret she had in her life, and that included chopping her sister’s hand off with a cleaver, it was all eclipsed by taking this job. Only now did the feeling of genuine danger seep in for her. A small tear leaked from her eye, “Ve...w-we…”

Whatever voice left her throat drowned in the absolute despair that clenched and strangled her heart. She barely recognised the worried look of her partner. The comforting words that attempted to snap her back to reality. She didn’t even notice the clock striking 6 AM, the arm wrapped around her and moving her out the office. The soothing whispers of reassurance and safety.

And she never noticed the Pearl robot peeking outside the side stage curtain, her LEDs glowing a hellish purple. A look that promised no happy ending inside the very foundation itself. A look of a mastermind, intending to finish the game they had grown weary of.


	5. Sudden Eclipse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At wit's end, Ve sends off a message towards the only people she can think of who can help them now - The New Squidbeak Splatoon, currently on a mission overseas. As they pack up and begin the journey home, the two must endure yet another night of monsters while thunder and lightning loom in the sky.

Marja barely registered being carted out of the pizzeria by Ve, the soft clank of her feet against the pier deck being the only sound she could hear. The world was a blur, her expression hollow and staring into space, hand clutched so tightly to Ve’s that her already pale skin grew white. Ve was saying...something, but it was lost, just a mumble amidst the madness in her head. She felt vaguely devastated, her mind running backwards and forwards through her own mind, with only so many thoughts on display;

_‘Why are we doing this?’_

_‘I’m putting her in danger.’_

_‘This is madness.’_

_‘Do we really need the money.’_

_‘Help me.’_

_‘Help me.’_

**_‘OH COD HELP ME-’_ **

It was true dawn before she awoke from her slumber. A truly wonderful smell was under her nose. She looked down, it was a sleepy Veemo curled to her chest. Her scent of flowers and fruit suggested she had a shower before snuggling back into the bed to Marja. Her hair was undone and she had a peaceful smile to her face. She was, in Marja’s silly perspective of romance, perfect in every way.

...So why was she feeling so much guilt looking at her sleeping friend? Her heart was practically cracking the longer she stared at the Octoling. It was her fault they were even in this stupid mess. If she didn’t get injured, they could have just done more Turf War. Their rent would have been done and dusted. But no, she made a mistake and got hit. And THEN she had the brilliant idea of getting a shady security job which had plenty of red hearings even before they started! It was her fault that Ve was in so much danger, that she had to keep looking after the pathetic Inkling that she was, that they almost DIED from some crappy, second rate robots! And worse...it still wasn’t enough. They didn’t have enough money for rent. Not after buying food. They had to go back...for another four nights.

...They were gonna die. And it was all her fault.

She wrapped herself around the Octoling and sobbed pitifully into her shoulder, “I’m sorry...I’m sorry…”

And the sleeping Ve, sound asleep and safe in the knowledge of a sent text during the long walk home, knew it loud and clear.

===

Octo Gorge. The Octoling hideout of New Inkshire, yet another vast expanse of scrap and sandstone hiding the Octarian Forces from the outside world. In the Gorge, it was Tempest, one of the older Elites who still remained loyal to Octavio and wished to carry out his plans despite his capture. The Gorge, halfway around the world, would be her base of operations. And to Agent 4’s exasperation, she had certainly dug herself in deep.

The male Inkling stared at the fortifications in front of him, clutching at the scarf wrapped around his Hero Hoodie. He had to admit, his bright yellow jacket made him stand out more in the duller greys and greens of New Inkshire than he’d really like. Never mind his dark purple tentacles, an uncommon colour amongst even these more colour-fickle Inklings. He tapped his snowboots against the rock that made up the gorge’s floor, staring blankly at the massive cliff faces either side of him, between which a mass of wood, steel and wire was placed. It had lookouts and sniper towers and everything.

Grumbling, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his communicator. He blew into the receiver to clear it of dust, “Agent 2, come in Agent 2.”

The sultry, deeper tones of the green Squid Sister rang through the communicator, “This is Agent 2, come in Agent 4.”

“These uh...these fortifications look...yeah,” he sighed, “Even with the four of us, I feel we’re outnumbered a little. The Gorge’s fortified with a large wooden barricade, Octo Chargers on every tower.”

“Hmm…” Agent 2 grumbled, “We COULD find a way around them, but it appears we have been summoned elsewhere. Find us back at home base. I’ll explain there.”

Another voice called out over the communicator, lighter in tone and feel, “And DON’T forget your Hero Shot this time!”

Agent 4 sighed dryly, “I won’t, Agent 1…” and with that, he picked up his Hero Shot and trudged back to home base. Thankfully it didn’t take that long, considering it was all connected by Kettles. Wasn’t it always? He walked the stretch of land he’d taken to get to the rocky outpost overlooking the barricade, swimming up inked walls and hills, before jumping into the Kettle and being sent back home with a whistle and a shuddering thud.

OctoPluss Homebase wasn’t necessarily the Squidbeak Splatoon’s homebase in the Gorge. They were only here on recon duty for the local Squidbeak chapter, the Angler-Squidbeaks. They were off celebrating something, presumably another Splatfest. Agent 4 couldn’t remember the details. The Homebase was much...well, homier than Tentakeel Outpost, seeing as it doubled as a true base rather than just a lookout post. It was a small building constructed over the Gorge, made of steel and wood. The insides were furnished like any old house, the main room with couches and coffee tables and a kitchen off to the side. Windows on the walls looked at the green hills and rocky cliffs outside, alongside the city of New Inkshire in the distance. It was raining. It always was raining here.

Agent 4 jumped out of the Kettle and rushed to the door of the base, barrelling through but respectfully closing the door on the way. He breathed a sigh of relief, looking around the comfy home room. Already, he could see his fellow teammates. On the couch sat Agent 2 in her standard kimono outfit, also known as Marie. Why she kept having this obvious “I’m not here but totally here” style was beyond him. She was currently watching Agents 1 and 3 discuss… how to dab properly.

Yep. These people saved Inkopolis once.

“No no no NO! This is how you dab Callie!!” Shouted the infamous Agent 3, ducking her head low while both her arms shoot to her right. She was wearing the older uniform of the Agent gear, with more casual trainers, a light vest jacket and thicker headphones than the newer set Four had. Her tentacles were a bright red, reminding him of Octoling soldiers, styled in a bob cut way with long bangs. This was the Inkling that took down Octavio and his army the first time around. A dabbing girl with the cheekiest grin he’d ever seen.

“You DARE challenge the dabbing QUEEN?! THIS is how you do it!” And there was Agent 1 doing the same as 3 but to her left. Of course it was the other half of the Squid Sisters, the hyper-go-lucky Callie. She was in the more casual outfit he’d seen her in back at the Canyon. Beanie with a star, cute pink jacket and socks with a plain t-shirt and shoes.She would be nice company and a friend if she wasn’t so obsessed by the Hypno-Shades that she was, for some reason, allowed to keep. He stopped counting how many times she’d caused trouble with the wretched things after the incident with Crusty Sean. If her being banned there for a week wouldn’t stop her, nothing would. She practically lived off that stuff.

Marie turned her head after hearing the creek of the door. She seemed desperate to see something other than dabbing squids, and she flashed a coy but warm smile at Agent 4 stepping through, “Oh hey 4. You made it back safe, then.”

“Safer than most,” Agent 4 shrugged. He waddled over to the couch and sat down prim and properly, “So, what’s this ‘summoning’ thing?”

“It’s Agent 8,” Marie said dryly, flipping out her phone, “She sent us a text. Things don’t seem to be so good back home.”

“May I read it?” Agent 4 asked. Marie nodded, handing him the phone. His eyebrows formed a low frown as he read it out loud, to himself mostly; 

“‘ _Heya guys, this is Eight. I usually don’t like disturbing you guys from your important work and stuff, but… I really need some help. Me and my friend Marja, who’s a cutie and must be protected, got a job at a Wahoo pizzeria which has these creepy Idol robots. It was fine at first, but I think these things are SUPER dangerous. I can see it’s made from Octarian technology, along with something… unknown. And I don’t know if it’s that mystery, but they are super vicious and even threatened us. I’m scared, really scared. So if you can, can I get some help with these robots? I would do something with them but I can’t afford to lose the money. Rent sucks, how do Inklings live with it!? Anyway, that’s all I wanted to ask. Love you all!_ ’”

“Hooh, she’s having a bad time!” Agent 3 laughed. She was instantly met with three flat glares. “What, it sounds like she is!”

“Still, I didn’t think 8 of all people would be shaken. Didn’t she destroy a massive, society ending statue?” 4 asked, to which Marie nodded in agreement.

“Marina talks very highly of her,” Callie shrugged, before her expression turned fearful, “But...if she can’t handle this, wouldn’t that make it way worse? Worse than a giant laser? How scary ARE these robots?”

“Scary enough they did it without a licence,” Marie growled, “‘Cause I don’t remember being asked about this at any point."

4 spoke up, “Either way, we have something that worries Eight to the point that she needs help. I think it would be worth at least investigating.”

“Good,” Agent 3 chirped, “I was gettin’ bored of this place anyway. All tea and yellow fangs and mashed potato and sausages. Or bangers and mash, as they call it. This place sucks.”

“3,” Marie grumbled, “The New Inkshire people are steeped in tradition but they’re good people. They can take care of themselves, we can always return when we deal with this.”

“...Alright!” 3 cheered, “I guess it’s time to go dab on some haters!”

“Oh Cod…” Agent 4 sighed gravely.

“I’ll text 8 and say we’ll be back in a couple of days,” Callie chirped, tapping away on her phone, “It’ll take some time to pack up and fly back.”

“That it will,” Agent 3 smiled, slipping something out of her pocket, “Hey babe!” she turned to Agent 4, “Lookit this!”

“Do not floss with the shades o-she’s flossing with the shades on…” Agent 4 facepalmed, barely able to stare at the meme-riddled mess before him.

“Oh come on,” Marie smirked, “You love her really.”

“...Yeah,” Agent 4 smiled secretly, “I do.”

“...SIMP.”

===

Marja stared blankly at the monitor. It was all she could do. It was an almost surreal feeling back in the office, Ve once more doing her part with the lights and doors. It’s like her body wanted to flee, to scream, to just… do something, anything. But she couldn’t. Almost like she was locked into her chair, unable to move or even stand. Just stuck, doing the same death game for the fourth night in a row. After the phone call ended, much of which was just the same old same old, she just wanted her Octoling partner to run. To flee with her life. But she knew, unfortunately, that the robots would catch her.

The only option was to beat their games again.

“Callie is in the Kitchen, Marie is on stage-” Ve quickly bumped her elbow on the left door button, shutting out the fury of the Pearl robot, “-and Marina… yeah, in the janitor closet. Okay… so far so good.” The girl’s brain was in overdrive, just like in her past. She spent the entirety of the night and morning to think and strategise. They had gotten lucky that whoever the animatronics were had just been toying with them, but they would get bored one way or another. Luck wouldn’t carry them all the way, so a plan was needed. A plan to survive.

In her brain storm, she formed an idea of sorts. Callie and Marina both operated somewhat similarly, the Inkling flanking right with the Octoling rushing the left. Both were easy to track though, so the problem was more so forgetting them while keeping things down on the other two Idol-machines. Pearl was intimidating, but arguably the easiest to work with. She was always at the side stage and if not, on her way on the left side. If she wasn’t at the stage? Simple, shut the door as she did earlier. But it was Marie that took her some time to nail down. It was faint, but her glowing eyes were just barely visible on the crappy camera. The moment she saw Marie, the robot stopped. Completely, like a statue. It felt like how Pearl acted, but over a longer distance. But...she didn’t return to the stage after being caught. Guess she was the more focused of the robots, never losing progress. Terrifying, but Ve learned to not give into terror.

If she did, she may not still be alive right now...no-one would.

"BZRRT! You wi...be blen...nto the ra...erial of...he new world!"

She groaned as the faint buzzing filtered out her head. That’s what she gets for having her memories played with, she supposed. Random static, flashes. They had gotten better but when she focuses… not fun, at all. A roar of thunder shook her out of her mind, along with a little air from her mouth in a gasp. Sallie did say there was a heavy storm predicted tonight. Well, it wasn’t like the nights were peaceful anyway. Ve thought as she closed a door on Callie’s face. There was a small thud, along with electronic rants at how the door doesn’t make sense.

“ _A-Aww...what a pa-a-arty po-o-per…_ ” emitted from behind the door, and then a soft thud as the robot continued back down the hall. Ve waited until the steps vanished into nothing, sighed with relief, and opened the door again.

“Why do they use so much power?” Marja asked, voice hollow, “Why can’t we just lock them?”

Ve shrugged, “It’s gonna be fine, Mar. We’ve got the hang of this now, okay?” She checked the right hall light, and of course Marie was there, staring down at the two. Marja sobbed in fair through gritted teeth, leading Ve to give Marie the finger and shut the door on her. Marie looked...less than impressed, sulking down the corridor also. Ve turned to Marja and took her hand, which Marja nearly crushed with her vice-like grip, “It’s gonna be fine, Mar...just, fine.”

“It’s not gonna be fine…” Marja whined, “We’re gonna die…”

“Marja…” Ve asked, “...Have you been taking your meds?” Marja hesitated, to which Ve sighed, “Mar! Those pills are there to help!”

“WHAT HELP IS THIS?!” Marja screamed.   
  
Ve sighed, closing the other door and bringing Marja into a hug, “It’ll be just fine, Marja. We’re gonna get through this. I promise. Look, it’s already 5! We’re almost there. We just gotta do one more hour, and we’re done. As long as nothing happens-”

**BOOM!**

===

Ve sighed as she flicked the torch on and shone it around the now pitch-black office, “...Remind me to sew my mouth up when we get home, yeah?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened, from the sound of the thunder and rain outside. But still, the phone on the desk began to ring. Must have been connected to its own power source. Now that was some forward planning. The voice of Sallie rang out amongst the blackness, “Hey girls! Man, I heard the lightning strike from here! I’m looking over your predicament from the remote systems I have at home and...yep, lightning strike took out the generator. But don’t worry, it should be an easy fix. The power can be manually restarted in the back room in the maintenance panel. Just get your cute selves over there and it should not be a prob-lamo.”

“B-But what about the ROBOTS?!” Marja half whispered, half shouted, which was a good point. They would be going in complete darkness against those… things.

“Oh, I should point out since the building is completely powerless, the animatronics are unable to move. Now this may seem good to some, but you do need to get them back online too as part of your contract. We can’t do a day shift if their servos are locked, remember? Plus some security measures are probably down as well. You don’t want people to get in and steal toys that kids saved up tokens for, riiiiiight~? Anyway, back room, maintenance panel. Get to it and good night!”

Both girls were left in silence, the only light being from Ve’s touch. She didn’t want to speak up before her partner raised her voice. “This is dumb… stupid, dumb, we dead, we’re DEAD!” She was going hysterical, flinching when another crack of thunder shook the office.

Ve moved to the shaking girl and hugged her tightly. “Beath, Marja. In and out. Slowly, okay? Listen to me and follow.” She took a deep, deep breath through her nose, and exhaled out her mouth, not aiming for Marja’s face. She repeated once, twice before hearing her partner do the same. Her breaths were shaky like her body, but slowly took more control. More calm, more focused. “There. Now here’s what we are going to do. I’m going to go and re-activate the power while you stay in the office, okay?”

“...Okay.” The Inkling was given one last, tight hug before Ve exited the office through the west door, heading to restart the power. The Octoling made sure to snatch a walkie-talkie just in case on her way out. Marja wished she had the Judd plush, all of a sudden. The darkness seemed to seep into her vision, toying with her brain. “Deep breaths… deep breaths Marja...”, she ordered herself, rocking a little on her office chair. Ve will turn the power on, and then they can leave. Easy, done. There’s absolutely no reason to panic… no reason to panic.

Meanwhile, Ve had started the journey through the corridors towards the breaker. Ve sighed, this was insane. There was only an hour left, if the animatronics were as good as off, why not just wait in the darkness and turn it on at six?! Only, she thought about it a little more, Sallie seemed like the kind of person to arrive on the letter during the day...and the people setting up would rather not waste the morning waiting for them to boot up. And she and Marja would probably be in hotter water than they already were. Sighing, she slipped into the Back Room. Looked the same as last night. She took a few minutes to collect herself before she reached for the breaker. She was just barely beyond its reach. She resorted to taking one of the spare Callie heads and, apologising to it all the while, using it as a stepping stool to grab the breaker and pull with all her might.

“Come on… almooooost… There!” She barely managed to open the panel open, wobbling a bit from her uneven, temporary stool. Holding her torch up, she surveyed all the levers and switches inside the breaker. Thankfully it was simpler than expected, just tap the lever that was labeled “Manual Reset” and it slowly hummed to life.

“ _Power Restored…_ ” came a voice. A very...familiar voice. Ve shuddered as the voice continued, “ _Checking Aggression Level parameters...Animatronic ‘Marina’ has been assigned A-Level, 4. Rolling for Movement Opportunity...result is, 3. Movement possible._ ”

“Aggression Level?” Ve asked. She reached for her walkie-talkie, “You hear that, Marja?”

“Kinda…” Marja mused, “Well, that’s something to keep track of. At least you’re safe for now. ‘Rina doesn’t enter the Back Room. I’ll let you know when she’s-”

_Creak…_

Oh no.

Ve yelped and jumped behind some boxes near the back of the room. In the doorway was the robotic Marina, her teal eyes glowing against her shadowed frame. Spots of light scanned the room, no doubt searching for the intruder hidden in the dark. Thunder roared again, the hiding girl almost yelping before she clamped her mouth shut with her hand. What could she do?!

“Ve...” The voice of Marja was barely audible, as she looked down at her walkie-talkie, “The vent… take the vent before she sees you...” The vent… the VENT!! She swallowed her fear before feeling for the cool metal. Her nerves grew the more she fumbled before her finger tips felt that coldness only the vent could have. She never thought it would be so comforting in any situation. She looked back. Marina was kneeling by the vent.

“ _Aww, Ve-e-e!_ ” robo Marina spoke, “ _Everythi-i-ing’s gonna be okay, swe-e-e-etie! Come on i-i-i-n!_ ”

“...Marja,” Ve whined, “She knows my name.”

“Just get back here, get back here RIGHT NOW.” Ve didn’t even try to be careful, sliding octo-form into the vent as the Marina robot just teared though the cover! She didn’t even flinch as the heavy crates and robot supplies crashed around the room, punching through the vent to try snatch Ve up. The girl screamed and scrambled away from the extended metal limb. Thankfully all the strength in the world couldn’t change the fact her bulky body didn’t fit in the vents as she gave up on her hunt. “VE?! VE please answer?!”

“I-I’m okay… I-I’m gonna be… alright.” She sniffed before crawling back to her partner. The occasional thuds of her crawling outpaced by the heartbeat booming inside her chest. “Wh-Where are the others?”

“U-Uhh, Marina’s still in the b-back room. Callie and Marie, umm… M-Main stage. And… a-and… Pearl’s missing?!”

“M-Missing? S-Shut the left door!” Ve screeched, losing her focus on making it back to make sure her friend is safe. “...M-Marja?”

“...Not there. She’s not here?! Ve, wh-what-”

“ _N-N-NO WHERE TO RUN, V-VE!!! AHAH-AAHHH-AHHHAH-HHAA!!!_ ” The vent suddenly lit up like it was a clear day with the Pearl animatronic giving chase at Ve in a terrifying speed!! The Octoling let out an ear piercing scream and fled as fast as she could, her lungs and heart fighting like it was the end of her very life. The vents cracked and scratched as the heavy idol chased mercilessly after her prey, closing the gap slowly and surely. “ _A-ALMOST C-CAUGHT Y-Y-YOU, EH-AHAHA-AHAHH!!_ ”

“No. No!! No no no no NO NO NO NOO!!!” She screamed again as she felt a cold hand grip her left ankle hard, tugging her back. Her face spun to see the Pearl grinning up at her, the static face suddenly masked with murderous intent. It was going to kill her. She was going to die unless she did something! On instinct, she reared back her right foot and kicked the murderous robot in the face as hard as she could. The grip loosened before tightening again. So she kicked again. And again and again. “GET OFF!! JUST GET OFF ME!!!” With a final kick, she smashed the robot in the face, breaking one of its eyes in the process. The glitchy animatronic gave up and collapsed in the vent, leading Ve to scuttle back towards the office. She flopped through the grates in Octo form.

“Phew. Okay, I think we’re just about ready to-OOF!”

Ve received what may have been the tightest hug she had ever gotten. Marja had wrapped herself around her like a blanket. She didn’t cry, she made not a single sound, she just clung to her desperately, shivering like a towel in the wind. Ve grimaced, placing her hands around her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, before finally, mercifully, the bell for 6AM rang. Neither really took notice of the end of the night, nor did they notice the tears slowly flowing down both their cheeks.

They had survived the night once again.


	6. Fresh of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. Day 5. A work week over and done with. As Off the Hook help them cool down and an hour is shaved off of their shift, all seems well and the night seems as good as done. But something's been missing from this Wahoo World pizzeria. The true mascot, of course!

It was 3:20PM, Inkopolis Square. Jellyfish and Inklings were just about finishing up all the cleaning from last night’s Splatfest: Burgers vs Pizzas. Fun as they are, basically no one looked forward to the massive cleaning up that inevitably comes with it. When people chug ability drinks and boosting food, it was practically a massive grave site for leftovers. And of course, where there was a Splatfest, there were two idols doing their part tallying the points for the winner.

Which lead to Pearl and Marina in their hang out spot, lazily clicking through all the data. The latter held back a yawn while her eyes half heartedly did the calculations, cause in the end it was just counting. Just lots and lots of counting. But when she sipped her morning coffee, again needed for this amount of tedious work, her gaze spotted her short Inkling companion with that face. The face that told her she was extremely bothered by something and won’t let it go until it’s dealt with.

“Pearlie?” Marina asked, lightly shaking her, “Babe? Are you okay?”

Pearl let out a heavy sigh, tossing her papers on the table with reckless effort. “I’m just worried, okay? Like, it was Eight! I… I don’t ever remember her being THAT shook up, even down in that smelly metro. She was forced to die and repeat with no memories but was fine, but now?!” She trailed off, before sighing again. Blunt worry and concern was the last thing Pearl liked to show, but when it did, it did.

“Oh, right, was this about earlier today?” Marina asked, “When we saw her? She had her Inkling friend with her, didn’t she?”

“Yeah and she was a MESS,” Pearl sighed, pinching the bridge of her tiny nose, “What’ve those two been up to this week? They look like the walkin’ dead, ‘cept not neon green!”

The Octoling tapped her chin in thought, biting her bottom lip slightly, “All I recall is they got a small job. Other than that, she didn’t mention anything... ” she took another quick sip of her caffeinated beverage, “But you’re right, Eight has always been strong. Confident, even when outmatched-”

“Like that bull squid Power Girl Station?”

“-right, like that. And against Tartar’s massive doomsday cannon. But, after some thought… I can’t help but feel like she’s in danger.” Her eyes met her partner’s where they both locked, “We need to help her.”

“How, exactly?” Pearl shrugged, “She’s too busy asleep or at work to tell us.”

“Well…” Marina hummed, “She told me that they had an extra hour off today, for maintenance at work. So they got an extra hour...how ‘bout we pull a couple’a strings for them?”

“Like?”

Marina grinned as she brought out her phone, “I got an idea.”

===

“Volcanic Vineyard Mudbath Spa?” Marja cried out in disbelief, “What parents do you have?!”

“Heh...good ones,” Ve chirped, wilting a little under her partner’s genuine attempt at murder through glaring.

“And you didn’t think, I don’t know… ASKING THEM FOR RENT HELP?!” Later she regretted shouting at the Octoling, but after nearly being killed for the last few days? She was at her limit, alright?

Ve, on her part, flinched like she’d been slapped. “S-Sorry, but… I t-told them I wanted t-to be my own person. Th-That I wanted to do my own life… L-Living off them didn’t f-feel right, okay?” She ended with a small sniffle, refusing to meet her partner’s questioning stare.

Marja’s guilt soon overwhelmed her, “Y-You’re right…” she deflated almost instantly, looking down and rubbing her arm, “I’m sorry…”

“D-Don’t worry.” Ve gave her a weak smile, “Let’s just… forget everything and try t-to relax, okay? M-Marja?”

“...Okay.” 

The two eventually entered the building, greeted by the owner of the baths. Same species as Flow, actually. Nice person, even if Marja didn’t get her name. She led the two girls across the warm area to the mud baths in question; being far from any active volcanoes (most of which were underwater by this point anyhow), the jungle aesthetic of the resort was charming but rather synthetic. Fake tropical trees lined the leafy ground, with fake-rock baths littering the complex. A number of Inklings, Octolings and Jellyfish were lounging around in the grey mud, looks of pure content across all their faces. Marja swore she was Sallie out of the corner of her eye, but she knocked the thought from her head. She was just… hallucinating, after so much time in that infernal place. Probably.

The owner led them to an empty bath and began to instruct them on what to do. Dress in swimwear (Marja had a one-piece, the more daring Ve had a bikini that covered a bit more than what Marie would model down at Mahi-Mahi Resort), slowly dip in the mud, don’t go in further than one's neck, no splashing. Marja didn’t really care to listen, mainly cause she didn’t have the mental energy to argue otherwise. She got changed, slightly cursing her smaller assets a little, before stepping into the bath area. Sitting on the side of the bath was her Octo partner, feeling up the mud with a content smile on her face. It would have been almost a fantasy for Marja at a time…

...until she saw a horrific scar dead center on her back. It looked worse, so much worse than anything she had been through herself, almost terrifyingly so. It looked star shape, like something detonated across her back, with an almost teal green colour to it. It doesn’t even look like the skin fully healed. She didn’t get to say anything before Ve slipped into the mud, sighing loudly at just how good it felt on her weary skin. She waved her hands through the mud, watching it slather and ripple, giggling as some of the rising bubbles burst against her skin.

“V-Ve?...” Marja gasped silently, eyeing her companion.

The Octoling turned around with a beautiful smile, “It’s so nice! ...Marja?” she asked when the cyan haired girl didn’t move. Maybe it was the relaxing warmth that made her so slow, but it slowly clicked where her companion was staring. “A-Ah… I, heh… almost forgot. H-How about you sit with me, then I can… explain it.”

Marja waited a few seconds, then shrugged. She slowly slipped into the mud too. A pleasing warmness came to her freezing toes, causing Marja to yelp in shock. Still, after the initial jump, her body slowly dipped into a relaxing mass. Ve sat close by, shoulders nearly touching. Marja slowly wrapped her muddy arms around her before Ve explained her back’s story.

The Octoling leaned into her embrace, still being the shorter of the two in height, before speaking up, “A few years ago, I woke up in some sort of metro. I had an ink tank, but no weapon… or even any memories. All I remembered was the Calamari Inkantation. It was buzzing about in my mind, almost like it wanted to reawaken me. But thankfully I wasn’t alone. It was there I met an old man called Cap’n Cuttlefish.”

“That old fart who keeps stealing my rubbish bin?”

“Umm… I’ll have to ask about that later, but he helped me and kept me company underground. We met a few other friends down there too, like C.Q. and Iso Padre. And of course my ‘moms’, the Off the Hook idols. Y-Yeah, they, umm… a-adopted me. Legally.”

“...Holy shit that’s cool.”

“I am part of the Squidbeak Splatoon Agency…” Ve sighed, “I...am Agent 8. And I spent...way too long in those metro tunnels.”

“Does that have to do with the scar on your…”

“Y-Yeah…” Ve sighed, snuggling against Marja’s side a little more, “You see, down there we had some...tests. Tests for subjects to get through, to find all four Thangs. And yes, they are called Thangs. I checked. Anyway, on my ink pack was a bomb, strapped and ready to blow. Each and every time I failed a test, it would detonate, splatting me instantly. And it… really, really hurt…”

“B-Babe…” Marja whined, snuggling ever closer to the octoling. She smelled a little funny from the mud but she didn’t care. She stroked her head lovingly, “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“I…” Ve sniffled, “I wanted to leave it behind. I just wanted to live a normal life…” she looked up, happy, smiling, “And I got that. With you. Ever since I found you lying on the arena floor, Agent 8 has been...a part of me. Not who I am. You, you’re who I am. Who WE are.”

“...Oh, Ve!” Marja sniffled, head now resting against Ve’s chest. Ve soothingly rubbed her hands up and down Marja’s back, massaging the minerals in the mud into her skin. She knew Marja too had some blemishes and scars the mud could help with - that nasty one up her hip and torso from some...awful circumstances in childhood, for one. And that was as long as one of those horrible robots didn’t rip it open again. But that was for later. This was now. And the two cuddled and relaxed, all throughout the afternoon. All fears, worries, nightmares were put aside, with warm comfort and friendship flowing around the couple instead.

===

The two prepared for the fifth night of their deadly night shift. Marja briefly considered how insane the experience felt as she and her partner walked to the pizzeria, hand in hand. It felt like something a cheesy horror movie would be like, or a simple indie horror game that people played to react to. Those themes were extremely creepy but basically had zero chance of happening. It felt like that to her, which she chuckled at the ironic feeling it gave her. Still, tonight she was going to do her absolute best. Fear and worry won’t get her this night, not if she had anything to say about it. Ve on her right also felt like she had a confidence boost, her head held high and eyes full of confidence.

She didn’t have long to stare into the Octoling’s amber eyes however as Ve spoke up, “Say… where’s Mike? Doesn’t he usually pass the key to us before the shift?” Marja simply nodded as they looked about. No sign of him. Not even the usually faint scent of seaweed cigars that was usually left behind him after he cleans up.

“Hmm…” Marja grumbled, “I don’t like that. Where could he be…?” suddenly, a bright spark shone above her and a smile crept across her face, “WELL I guess this means we can’t get the key and can’t get inside let’s just write this whole night off and-”

“Oh hey, it’s under the welcome mat.”

“CODDAMMIT!! That wasn’t even there LAST night!!” Marja screamed, though somewhere the back of her mind knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Why would it after all the crap they have already been through?!

“Hey, don’t worry Marja!” Ve gave a smile that put the sun to shame, “We’ve got this! We know how the robots work, what to do, AND have one less hour to do! We’ll be in and out, no issues!” She then took her Inkling’s hand in hers and gave a small squeeze, “It’ll be fine, I promise.” Marja instantly relaxed at the comfort, nodding with her own resolve. With that, the two entered the building into the main room.

1:30AM struck fast, and the two went through their usual routine; lay out drinks, food, flashlights, walkie-talkies, turns cuddling Judd plush, the usual. Neither would admit how used they seemed to be in their situation. Marja sat down and was instantly on the cameras while Ve occasionally checked the hall lights themselves. Though, maybe after a few minutes of nothingness, the agent noticed something odd.

All the animatronics were offline. Even the odd ones like Marie.They were slumped over, staring at the ground. Completely motionless. Even Pearl, who by 1 would certainly be rearing up for an attempt at the door, sat dead silently by her little cove. The lights were out, the rooms were empty, chairs stacked neatly on tables. Even the kitchen camera was on this time, showing a pristine kitchen. The place was empty. Silent.

A warm, excited glee washed over Marja, “They’re offline… th-they’re staying offline! Ve!” she huggled with her companion, “It’s a miracle! It’s a freakin’ Frostfest miracle!!!”

“I remember when that was called Christmas…” Ve grumbled, “But, yeah! Looks like we’re good! Maybe this night won’t be so awful after all!”

It would only take another hour for Ve to regret that last bit.

It was a deafening crash that knocked Marja from her game of Eternal Online Origins: Clash of Kingdoms, Ve jumping from surprise as she was watching the battle unfold in glorious pixelated explosions. Still, something was clearly not right. The Veemo snatched up the tablet and tapped away on the cameras, only to discover the Main Room security was currently offline in static. She swallowed harder than she was expecting before Marja peaked over her shoulder.  
  
“T-The hell? Why is that cam suddenly broken? You… you think it was that bang?” She theorized, rubbing the back of her head.  
  
Ve hummed before nodding in agreement, “Must’ve been… th-there might be someone inside. It couldn’t be the robots, they were clearly not active. Either that o-or a power failure in that camera’s circuit?”

“Try to look at different cameras?” The Inkling suggested, to which Ve tapped away. Nothing in the hall cams, nothing in the back room, kitchen is clear, Pearl was still having a midlife crisis on the side stage, there’s some liquid in the… janitor closet? Well, nothing picked up what could have caused that bang, making the Octoling scratch her head.

“Liquid?” Marja asked, “Looks...dark. Almost...reddish.”

“Should… one of us investigate?” Ve turned to face her partner. The idea wasn’t too appealing with the office being the obvious safe space, but there’s only so much some stationary cameras can see.

“I’ll do it this time,” Marja said, “...Just in case. Torch, please?” Ve handed her a torch, “Thank you…” she switched it on and went down the corridor. It felt rather...eerie, doing this. She had barely ventured outside of the office since starting work. Thank Cod the kitchen wasn’t that far away. She ventured out slowly, gingerly, into the main hall. The animatronics stood still on the stages, which creeped Marja out substantially. Like they could reactivate at any time. She pressed on, swallowing her fear and some of her spit(?) before she made it to the kitchen. On the ceiling in the corner, was the camera...or rather, its remains.

Now Marja was no technician in the slightest. She could use the tablet and phones and whatever, but that was her experience. But the destroyed equipment in front of her? Annihilated was more accurate. A large crater where the camera should have been cracked across the wall, and the pieces of the scrapped machine were scattered all over the place. It almost felt like it was detonated from the inside, though no scorch marks were visible on the walls. So it must have been sheer force, right?

Either way, the usual dread slowly wafted back into the room, something she had hoped beyond all reasoning was finished. But it wasn’t and now something got in when their guards were down. “V-Ve?” Marja talked through her walkie-talkie, “Th-The camera is busted. Something broke it, b-but I don’t see what it could have b-been.”

“Y-You serious?!” Ve’s voice practically screeched through the piece of plastic, “T-That’s so not good. I-I’ll keep an eye on the cameras, see if I can find them. Y-You going to come back to the office?”

“I think I want to check the, u-uhh, closet first...” She trailed off, swearing a shadow moved for a second. “There was that red l-liquid, yeah? We- I should see wh-what it is.”

“I… suppose. Well, n-nothing is in there right now, so be quick, okay?” Marja grunted into her talkie before walking back down the west hallway. Her footsteps thudded along like an Octoling army march, somehow empfising the silence of the building in fear. She eventually reached the door, but stopped just moments from opening it.

She… smelled something. Something strong. Something… metallic.

“...N-No… i-it’s fine.” Marja whispered, mainly to her slowly rising panic, “T-The freaks are off, n-nothing happened… i-it’s going to be-” She opened the door, where her words were swiftly silenced. If a pin were to be dropped right now, it would shatter the world of shock the poor Inkling was currently inside of.

It was Mike. Well, what was left of him. His body was strung up amongst overturned buckets and mops and cleaning products, his left leg and right arm missing, drenching the area with his red ink. Chunks were carved out of his face and torso, and across the floor before him, written in his own ink;

“ _ **IT’S ME**_ ”

Marja screamed like a banshee and jumped back into the office, slamming the door button and closing it behind her. Ve yelped in shock from all of this, staring at Marja, “Marja, wh-”

“CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE THE DOOR CLOSE THE”

Ve closed the door.

“...Thank you.”

“Marj…” Ve stammered, “Wh-What’s going on?”

“Mike’s in the closet…” Marja wept, her voice hollow, “...He’s...h-he’s…”

She was interrupted by the phone suddenly ringing, cutting the tension into nice, horrific pieces. But this time, the machine answered itself and the usual voice spoke through it once again. “Hello girls. Marja and Ve, if I remember correctly? Not that it matters too much, but… I have to say, you both got further than I was expecting. Such… a pain.”

Both girls sent a petrified look at each other, Marja silently leaking tears down her cheeks.

“Now, I know that the cyan squid saw Mike. Such a shame too, he was a lovely employee. But he tried to uncover my work. My precious machines that took years to make and I couldn’t have that. Alas, he saw too much so a simple pink slip just wouldn’t cut it, if you catch my drift~” Marja almost vomited, Mike’s butchered corpse flashing her mind in disgust and agony, “And now you both saw too much too… I’ll admit, I didn’t want to go this far for you two. Such a sweet, adorable couple helping each other, watching each other’s back with hugs and comforting words. I could seriously eat that Octoling right up, Ufhuhuhuhuu~” Ve shivered at the haunting laughter, somehow far scarier than anything she ever fought back in the metro, “But things are how it is. So let’s play a game. I have a new robot for you two to keep an eye on, though there are some things I should mention about him. He loves to play Hide and Seek! But peeping on him while he’s the seeker? That’s cheating, clearly! So if you happen to see him in the cameras… well, the main hall one is an example of what he does. Do try your best to entertain him, my lovelies~! And...DIE.”

The phone cut out. Both girls shot further glances at each other. They didn’t know what to do. Ve decided to look on the camera, in the Back Room. See what they were dealing with. She screamed, “AAH! What IS that?!”

Marja looked, and her ink ran cold. Well, colder. Standing in the main hall, axe in hand, staring blankly at the camera, was a robotic man. Black bodysuit, giant white cartoon gloves, big brown shoes, a massive bulbous yellow head twisted into a vacant smile. Marja gulped, “That’s...Fresh Fish. Mascot of Wahoo World. Got his own series. Freaks everyone out ‘cause of his looks. I-I mean it was a joke before that he was evil but...oh Cod.”

The Fresh Fish-onater stared at the two vacantly, before rearing up with its axe and slamming it into the camera. It went out almost instantly. Both girls just stared in shock and silence, faces turning paler than an Elite main on a snow day.

“What do w-we do… wh-what do… g-guh... ” Marja stammered, slowly collapsing into a feeble ball position, tucking herself on the floor and rocking to and fro. Ve trembled but forced herself to keep standing. If they both gave into fear, neither of them would leave this building alive. And she won’t allow that. Not today.

Heavy, mechanical thuds echoed around the pizzeria, so loud it felt like it bounced from room to room. Ve tried to check the cameras once more, to at least tell which hallway he was coming down. Side stage, clear. Bathrooms, clear. The kitchen-

And like that, the new animatronic slashed at the camera, a loud clatter of metal shaking the very building. Marja whimpered even more but Ve shut the right door fast. The footsteps grew closer and closer before knocking could be heard from the metal barrier.

“ _ **Don’t be shy… come on out~!**_ ” The voice called.

“NO!” Ve screamed in defiance.

“ _ **Oh, aren’t you being such a poor sport…**_ ” the voice snarled, “ _ **You gonna make this hard? FINE. More fun that way…**_ ”

The stomping followed down the hallway, along with some taunting, echoed laughter. Ve checked the cameras again. Main Hall, Back Room, Kitchen, all destroyed. Only left the Hallway cameras, Main Stage and Bathrooms left. Oh, and Pearl’s Side Stage, but Ve got the idea that they wouldn’t go there. She closed the cameras, it wasn’t worth losing them like this, and kept silent. She listened, quietly, for the stomping. It would stop and start, waiting in periods of seconds before stomping on again. It felt...far away, for now. There was little to do but wait in the dark, fearful, waiting for the robot to approach.

Marja had calmed down thankfully, but stayed in her little comfort ball that was herself. Ve couldn’t really do much about that, and guiltily thought how it was a silent blessing in the literal sense. Still, nothing but silence. Darkness. Dark yet somehow darker. More footsteps sounded, this time from the left. Stopping. Starting. Ve waited patiently, trusting her gut, her instincts honed from her past. And then shut the door as a footstep thudded close to loud.

“ _ **Hehe, not bad, not bad. But luck won’t hold forever girl!**_ ”

“We’ll see about that...”

And it kept going. On, and on, and on. That extra hour frankly meant nothing when it was this persistent. THIS aggressive. It kept getting more and more crafty, staying silent, suddenly rushing, giggling one side then somehow appearing on the other with steps.Ve even had to check the cameras every now and then, praying to refind it - and every time she did, that camera went down too. It wasn’t long before they were all dead. And Marja was scared they would follow.

And the taunting. The endless taunting. Every time it was locked out, the beastly bot would chuckle and quip. And it only got less and less stable as it went on. This wasn’t like the others. It was like this one was truly sentient. Unpredictable. Somehow...alive. Truly alive.

However, Ve never let in. She was Agent Eight for cod’s sake. She didn’t let herself simply give up, to let her and Marja down. She was going to get out, take Marja with her and put this crappy pizzeria behind them, rent be damned. Her instincts screamed to her left and she shut the door in a split second, something heavy crashed into the barrier before screeching in rage. 

“ _ **AAARGH! YOU MISERABLE TAKOYAKI! STOP CHEATING!!!**_ ”

The girl had a tiny smirk at the bot’s obvious annoyance at the girls before checking the time. 5:59AM!!!

“Heh, guess you underestimated me and my friend, robot! You’re not winning! Not the first night, not the last three and not tonight!!” She cheered. If she had looked down, Ve would have noticed Marja looking up with hope swimming in her eyes.

“ _ **ENOUGH OF THIS!!!! YOU ARE NOT WINNING EVER AGAIN!!!!!**_ ” 

A massive thunk broke the window effortlessly, raining shattered glass onto a yelping Marja, who was quickly hauled to her feet by her partner. Both suddenly backed away as the robot slashed at the door. What was the nail in the coffin was how the metal sheet of protection practically bowed and crumpled by the sheer force. Then it was struck once and twice more, falling apart like shredded paper. The Fresh Fish clambered through, axe still painted crimson that seemed to gleam with the glowing eyes. “ _ **Just… DIE ALREADY!!!!**_ ”

“RUN!!!” Ve cried, grabbing Marja’s hand and retreating down the east hallway from Marja. Thundering footsteps chasing them with relentless fury, like a pack of Salmonids on glowfly hysteria. Mechanical screeching and tinkering only added to the nightmarish chase, ringing both the girls’ ears as they jumped over an unfortunate camera corpse. A snapping crash signalled the metal crushed with merciless abandon by Fresh Fish, his axe scraping the wall with creaking and shuddering terror.

“GO LEFT, GO LEFT!!” Marja yelled as they did a swift turn. The axe moments later flew through the air, intended to split the Octoling in two with an angry toss. It slammed into the wall, taking out a good chunk out in a hollow hole.

“ _ **You’re not getting away!! I WON’T LET YOU!!!**_ ” The robot roared as the glass doors to the outside world was in their reach, but still locked.

Ve didn’t care, or rather decided to act then stop. So she threw her right shoulder at it with all her weight, smashing through the entrance and rolling on the ground, crying as shards dug deeply into her arm, dripping pink ink on the floor. Marja was close behind and hastily helped her back up as they fled into Wahoo World.

The robotic Fish watched the two sob and hobble through the dark, empty theme park before jumping the turnstiles and running for the city. It watched silently, calming itself. It sighed, and turned back into the pizzeria. And all was silent once again.


	7. Golden Circuits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a full working week of absolute hell, the two are ready to call it quits and just work at McDanios. Only their suddenly embittered employer forces them on the job, with certain death being certainly...certain. In their darkest hour, the two are sent a wonderful light; in fact, two pink and green ones through Off the Hook!

The sun was barely climbing when Ve and Marja got back to their apartment. The Octoling’s arm was still covered in her ink with shards that cut deep into her limb. Not that she cared at the moment. Never before had she felt more scared than what chased them down the pizzeria halls. The idol robots were creepy and unnerving, but that… thing? It was angry, raged. It had one intention and that was to kill them, murder them in cool blood. Her mind kept trying to be logical, ‘It can’t exist’, ‘It wasn’t real’, ‘Just a bad night and nothing more’ but the glass, the pain? It served as a cold reminder that someone or something tried their best to make her dead. It chilled her to her soul, not to mention her partner. Marja has stayed completely silent, eyes blank and wet, her nose runny. But just nothing else, no words or sounds. Ve had to check she was still breathing with a pulse. The only sign she was still here with her was her deathly tight hug she ansared Ve in, refusing to let go or loosen.

It took awhile for the poor, distressed girl to calm down enough to let go, and even then she didn’t leave Ve’s side as she nursed her injured arm. Pull out the shards, disinfect the wounds, wrap them up nice and tight. Twenty minutes before her right arm was snug in bandages, though it still stung like a Charger shot on steroids. It was almost as bad as the ink bomb, she thought with a dry chuckle. Not even moments later, she and Marja practically collapsed into their bed. It was just too much. The stress, the fear, it has grown too much. They cuddled together closely, clinging onto each other like they might disappear the next time they blink. Like that, they stayed before Marja slipped away into unconsciousness. The Octoling could barely keep her eyes open, but managed to send one last text before passing out next to her friend.

===

It was the afternoon before they woke again. Ve awoke with a yawn, stretching her arms before a stinging pain in one of them forced them back down again. She cursed her predicament, before turning to look at the still sleeping Marja. Her face was far calmer than it was the morning before, but it still reeked of some hollow force. The Octoling couldn’t bring herself to wake her. She’d had the worst week, she could sleep a few hours more, damn it. Slowly easing herself out of bed and placing the Judd plush by her side, Ve quickly made her way to the kitchen. She made herself some cereal, and whipped up some porridge for Marja to reheat and eat later. The sugary fizz of the Crowns made for some light relief this time, but little more. She had just finished her bowl before the phone rang. She momentarily lashed out against the air in rage, sick to tears of ringing phones, before she picked up the phone and answered the call.

“...Hello?”

“Miss Ve…” came the phone. It was Sallie. Only, not. Sallie’s voice was simply...droning. Deadpan. Laced with repressed anger. She spoke again, through what Ve was sure was gritted teeth, “Miss Ve, I am...VERY, very disappointed in you and your companion.”

“Miss Afton, you gotta understand,” Ve started to plead right away, “Last night was horrific! Th-There was a Fresh Fish robot, an-”

“I DON’T CARE FOR YOUR EXCUSES,” Sallie roared, “You have destroyed my pizzeria, it’s in tatters! The robots are fine thank Cod but the office is BUSTED!” she audibly took a few seconds to clear her composure, “No matter. Nooooo matter. I’ve already got people fixin’ it right now. All the work on the robots have been done, they’re workin’ better than ever now! So, I hope to see you two bright and early for tonight AND tomorrow’s shift.”

Ve paused. She was frozen solid with fear. She didn’t know what to do, barely what to say. Gingerly, she cleared her throat, “M-Miss Afton...we can’t. Your workplace safety standards are AWFUL! I fear me and Marja are gonna DIE if we ever get near that place again! We...we resign!”

A pause. A long pause. Ve’s hearts hammered in her chest. And then, a sneering drone from the phone, “Ve Shuirani. You...clearly have not read your contract. Clause 34 dash C states that work for the entire week is mandatory. No sick days, no days off. That’s illegal, I know, but I gotta keep my workers in line. Any days not in the pizzeria are counted towards legal action for Derivation of Duty. There will be grave consequences if my workplace is empty tomorrow, Miss Shurinai. Worse than-”

Her voice was cut off as Marja took the phone and, with a scream, threw it out of the window like a baseball. The window was, thankfully, open, so the phone soared out and down the apartment block. There was a crash and a yell as someone got beaned by it, but that was all. Ve turned to look at the Inkling. She was dressed in only her tank top and shorts, looking at Ve with the same, damnable stare.

Ve looked like she was going to cry, “Marja...what have we done?!”

Another silence. And then, “...I’m not going.”

“We gotta, Marj.”

“I’m not going.”

“Marja, you heard her, right?”

“I. AM NOT. GOING.”

“MARJA We’re gonna get sued if we don’t go. And we’re gonna die if we do! But...b-but-”

“I’M NOT GOING!!!” Marja screamed, before she plunged herself into Ve’s embrace and clung to her tightly. She sobbed helplessly, bawling like a child, “I’m not going I’m not going I’m not going I’m not going I’m not going I’m not…”

Ve wanted to say something. Anything. But...nothing came out. They were gonna die or worse. And it was all her fault. Composure lost, both collapsed to the floor and sobbed like babies, screaming into each other's shoulders in their shared wretchedness. And so they say, no comfort given, no words said. Just breaking down in the face of certain doom, for hours on end.

They didn’t even realise just how much time had passed from the meltdown, the fact Ve’s phone had been attempted to call, or the fact two very concerned, famous pop stars were moments away from bursting in the apartment.  
  
A polite tap of a knock was the first sign, ignored by both weeping girls. “Ve? Ve, please say something if you’re in there! Me and Pearlie just want to-”

“Oh £%&$ THIS!!” And with that the door burst off the hinges, smashing into the wall so hard that it woke up everyone on the block. There stood Pearl rubbing her bruised forehead, tentacles glowing like she was prepared to use her Princess Cannon if needed.  
  
Marina just stood to the side, hands on her mouth in shock like she just witnessed Pearl turning vegan. “PEARL?!?!” she shrieked, only getting a shrug from the short stack squid. “You can’t just headbutt the door and- E-Eight?!” The shock soon shifted to motherly concern as she saw Ve and Marja hobbled on the floor, clinging onto each other with red, puffy, tear soaked eyes. It almost cracked her heart right then and there.

“Y-Yo, what happen’d? Eight, what have you got yourself into?!” Pearl interrogated her with a raised voice, though the people who knew her could tell this was her ‘I am scared for you and want to protect you’ tone.

Ve sniffed and sobbed before just barely choking one word. “M-Moms…” Neither waited a second longer before engulfing her and Marja in the tightest hug they have ever done, cocooning the two in comforting warmth. They cried a little more, but by now their throats were dry and raw, with no tears left to shed.

Pearl broke from the hug, “Ve. Babe. Tell us everything.”

“O-Okay…” Ve sniffled, “Okay…”

===

“THEY FREAKIN’ WHAT?!” Pearl roared, kicking the serving tray across the room in rage.

“Pearlie!” Marina scolded, before she turned to the two, “But, really? The discount, bootleg animatronics? The threat of death and dismemberment? T-The Fresh Fish...thing? That’s all true?”

“All of it…” Ve sighed, sipping her tea. She was sitting next to Marja, who had fallen back asleep from exhaustion and was lying in Ve’s lap. Ve stroked her partner’s tentacles and continued, “We escaped the place after I broke down the door and we just… ran. And… then she called us a-and…” She trailed off, just taking a moment to keep herself together.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Marina sighed, “Take as long as you like.”

“Thanks, mom…” Ve whimpered, “The fact is...we are absolutely gonna die if we go. But...we’ll be sued into the floor if we don’t. Marja’s catatonic with fear and I...I don’t...know what to do…”

Deathly silence. Ve looked at the two, her eyes devoid of hope. Desperately, wanting something to happen. After a while, Pearl, clearly deep in thought, stood up. She stood silently, and then, “...Take off that uniform. You ain’t goin’.”

“But Sallie said-”

“‘Cause WE are,” Pearl said.

“Pearlie?” Marina asked, “Are you...sure?”

“Rina, look at her!” She pointed at the daughter they both loved, they both cherished. The daughter was so distraught and in fear that it physically hurt to look. “They have gone too far! If they want to give hell to Eight so badly, then maybe it’s time we start to fight back!”

Ve could only look at Pearl, full of dread… but for the first time this week, a tinge of hope, “I-It could be super dangerous...”

The Squid simply laughed and punched into her palm, “Please, I AM danger! Nothin’ too big or scary that I can’t dunk into the ground!” She grinned with so much confidence, so much strength that Ve did not comment how anyone is already “too big” for her.

“Well, I better go with you too Pearlie.” Marina commented, with a rare smirk on her face, “I can study and do research on the place and its robots. I was the top engineer in my squad before my change in life.”

Pearl grinned and wrapped an arm around the tall Octoling. “See Eight? Off the Hook has this lock and key! Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing!”

“...Guys…” Ve whined, “I can’t...thank you enough.”

“Just rest, Eight…” Marina sighed motherly, kissing her adopted daughter on the forehead, “You deserve the world, not this. I didn’t help you bust outta the Metro to be done in by some ripoff robot. We got this. Trust us.”

“...Alright,” Ve sniffed, “But first, I wanna go over how the robots move. I think there’s a pattern…”

===

“Helloooooo?” came Pearl’s voice as she peered through the doorway of the Pizzeria, “Anyone home? Anyone with a spine?”

“Pearlie! Be nice!” Marina whined, “Besides...WE don’t have spines.”

“...Carp, good point.” The two entered the building, Pearl strolling in like her revenge fueled rival was sorely overdue a punch to the eggs, while Marina took time to analyse anything suspicious. The building had clearly seen better days lately, with several cracks along the walls and tables, even a few chairs completely destroyed. It also seemed like no one came this day before the night with how all the non-wrecked chairs are stacked neatly in a corner. Not to mention all the loose, cut wires hanging from the walls and ceiling. “Jeez, you think it’d kill for somebody to clean up a little?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a friendly pizzeria like how it is advertised. Seems almost abandoned in a way.” Marina listed off, feeling one of the cracked tables. “Well, the first thing I want to do is see these “Idol” robotics. I never remember approving of such a thing.”

Pearl grunted in approval, “Eight said they should be chillin’ on the stages. Let’s get em!”

“We got the time?” Marina asked quickly. Pearl gave a simple nod as the two went to investigate. They decided to go to the Main stage first, being the closer one, where they saw the Squid Sister Animatronics and Marina’s metal incarnation. The fleshy Marina proceeded to blush hard while Pearl burst into hard snickering, “A-Ahh?! I-I’m not that large!!” She exclaimed, looking at her own bust then to the robotic excuse for a ‘subtle’ chest.

“PFFFT HAHAHAHaaaaa!! O-Oh my Cods, that is t-too funny!!” Pearl toppled onto the floor, tears leaking out her eyes as she laughed even harder, “Look at her! She’s got two melons jammed on the front! She looks like that weird fad that was doin’ the rounds a few months back. The one with the crown?”

“Ah yeah…” Marina sighed, “That. But...i-is this me? How could they approve of this, for c-children much less?! They could’ve asked us, at least!”

“Not to get off the point of all this, but now I’m curious what my one is like.” Pearl muttered before heading to the side stage, Marina sighing heavily as she followed along. It wasn’t much of a journey before they found Animatronic Pearl, slumped in the corner inactive. “...This just feels sad in a way. Why don’t I look awesome?”

“At least yours isn’t a sexual fantasy.” The tall Octoling sighed as she examined the robot, “Though I find it odd how the other three are clearly looked after, but then your one is just… kinda here. Maybe she’s broken?”  
  
Pearl gave the robot a quick tap with her boot, not responding at all, “Well, I am already awesome, so maybe it’s not too shocking it’s not up to my levels.” She stared at the broken robot, “I mean...still freakin’ plagiarism, tho. Why didn’t they ask us?”

“I guess we’ll see,” Marina hummed, “It’s about time for the shift to start. Let’s get set up, Pearlie. Let’s see how bad it REALLY is.”

“Let’s do this ‘rina!” Pearl said with her usual determination. They wandered back to the office, past the broken Pearl robot. They didn’t see her momentarily activate, staring down the corridor with bright, purple LED eyes…

===

“Okay, so...sodas?”

“Check.”

“Crabby Cakes?”

“Check.”

“That 100% sugar peanut butter you like so much?”

“Heh, you mocked me for likin’ this once…” Pearl cackled, placing the seanut butter down on the desk. They didn’t even bother to dress in the uniform, instead being in their “Metro” fashion. Marina her white tank top and jeans, Pearl her pink hoodie and crown. They were hoping to sell such fashion to the people...well, they’d have to survive this once. Marina sat down at the desk, already modifying the tablet to show multiple cameras while Pearl was stacking all her energy fuel in the form of cans. “You allowed to tamper with that?” she asked pointing at the now much larger camera cam.  
  
“Hey, it’s more like using it to our advantage...” Marina said, “...Besides, if what Eight sayin’ is true, I think a little monitor messin’ will be the least of our problems here.”

She splayed out the various directions and papers Ve had written for her about the animatronics and how they functioned; Callie attacked from the left, Marina from the right, Pearl bum rushed the office if the cameras were off, Marie could only barely be seen. Should Fresh Fish turn up, RUN. Simple stuff.

“Shouldn’t be hard,” Pearl nodded, “We’ve survived worse. Way worse. Ready, ‘Rina?”

“Let’s do this,” Marina grinned, staring at her watch, “12AM in 3...2..1...now.”

And all of a sudden, the phone rang. Both girls shared a look before Marina tapped the play button. “... … … … ...” Just heavy breathing. Breathing like the person was tired. Frustrated. Beyond their mental limit. “What joke are those two girls playing at? Why are you lot here instead of them?”

Pearl just frowned before leaning into Marina, “If this were the calls they were gettin’, no wonder it was going badly.”

“No kidding. I was hoping it’d be more informa-”

“SHUT UP!!!” The phone screamed at them, making them both jump. Wasn’t… weren’t these supposed to be pre-recordings? “I. Am. Upset. They were supposed to die yesterday. They were supposed to die TODAY! But instead of a nice, neat ending, I get… you guys. Pearl and… Marina.” The voice spat out in pure venom. The Inkling gave her girlfriend a look, but she seemed just as lost. “I just… I had a plan, but now… looks like it’s time for plan C. I sincerely hope you don’t have any concerts planned, Off the Hook.””

“Well, actually-”

“DON’T,” the voice growled, “I am sick of you, Marina. I think you’ll find everyone’s been set at Aggression Level 20 here. Oh yeah, it’s 4/20!”

“This ain’t no time for some seaweed,” Pearl snarked.

“JUST DIE ALREADY!!!” came a final screech, before the phone finally gave out and exploded. Pearl shielded Marina from the explosion, but thankfully neither was badly hurt. Already they could hear a whirr of mechanical whines from the stages. Alongside some giggles and cackles. The robots were awake.

“Time to bunker down!” Pearl crowed, “COME AND GET US!”

“I hope Ve’s doing okay right now…” Marina sighed before she began to focus on the monitor.

===

Marja woke from her little nap. It was 2AM now. She and Ve had spent the evening, well, resting. Catching up on sleep. Having not exactly peaceful dreams but much, MUCH needed rest. The two were currently cuddled up against one another, with Ve using one of Marja’s tentacles as a makeshift pillow. The Judd plushie was cuddled between them, like a baby. An adorable, cat baby. Ve was letting out her cute soft snores. It was the kind where although audible, it was never disturbing. It was just cute. A loving reminder of the amazing girl right next to her. Her friend, her partner. Feeling a little courageous, she gave a small kiss on the Octoling’s cheek, feeling her own redden in the moment. Ve simply sighed happily and leaned into Marja’s embrace even more, completely at easy.

“I… I really don’t deserve you...” Marja barely whispered, leaning into the Octoling more, “But Cod… y-your just amazing, you know that?” She kissed her again, more passionately this time, before snuggling back into her embrace and falling asleep soon after.

In her fading head, she could swore she heard Ve whisper back to her with pure happiness as she went back to her dreaming world.

===

BANG! Robot Pearl slammed into the door again, her metal denting as she did so. Angered, she got to the glass and screamed, “ _I WI-I-ILL GET IN EVENTUA-A-A-ALY! WAIT AND SE-E-E!!!_ ”

“INHALE MY TENTACLE ENRAGEMENT ROBOTS!” Fleshy Pearl screamed in response, flipping the bird at the robot before breaking from the window. She huffed and growled. This night hadn’t gone well at all. It was now 4AM, and those robots (if one could even call them that) were aggressive as hell. They just kept rushing the doors, trying to get in, and then vanishing into the darkness soon after. And Marie just wouldn’t leave the corner. How long was she there?! Well, enough for Pearl to just lose all her trained family friendly persona used on the live stage announcements and snap back at the killer machines.

As for Marina, well she kept them out the best she could, being no slouch to attention. She bounced from camera to camera, door to door, swinging around like a trained production line robot. However, the one thing she didn’t expect was the tiredness that was slowly setting in. Of course it was no problem for her short Inkling companion. A good 90% of her ink is fueled by all her sponsored energy drinks so she was always away. Even when asleep. It was kinda creepy at first but she just got used to it. Still, she was yawning and rubbing her eyes at this rate. There was one extremely close call where a robot was practically under the door when Pearl chucked her mic at the door button to shut it.

“Pearlie…” Marina sighed, drinking the last of their energy drinks, “I don’t...I’m not sure I’m gonna make it. Even I don’t stay up this late.”

“We gotta, ‘Rina! Otherwise we’re canned tuna!” Pearl cursed, “These damn robots...I can kinda see why they never approached us for licencing, they’re AWFUL. They made me look like a total clown, look at her!” she pointed to the window, where the robot Pearl was still standing there. Her bulbous, plastic casing looked cheap and worn, and her smile was less of Pearl’s trademark sneer and more a smug self-satisfied smirk.

“I concur…” Marina yawned, “These things feel like they were designed to mock us. Like, my bust isn’t THAT big...is it?”

“My BUTT’S not that big, that’s an insult!” Pearl growled, “And Marie’s not that fat, and Callie’s not that ‘looks-like-a-man’...”

“...We gonna sue them?” Marina asked dryly.

“Oh we are suing the SQUIT outta these bassholes! This infringes our copyright, AND it makes us out as murderers! What’re the kids gonna think?!”

Marina shook her head as she shut the right door AGAIN because for the love of Cthulhu Marie GO AWAY already!!! “Let’s just finish this night and get the preparations ready. We should also inform the Squid Sisters too when we can.” Open right door, check cameras, Callie was literally looking in the office, left door shut. “...Not much power left.” she stated with one big yawn.

“Come on, it’s five. We’re almost- MARINA!!!” Pearl screamed. It took one moment. One short, quick, accidental moment. The moment Marina let herself yawn was the time the Marie Robot decided to enter the office. She stood tall at her complete height, her eyes seemingly gleaned with amusement with her ever static grin almost twitching in the dimness of the office. It reached out for the camera tablet, to which Marina yelped away falling out of the chair, and crushed it like a simple sea grape.

“Oh squit…” Marina gulped.

“ _I-I-I was waiting for you-u-u-u to slip up,_ ” the robot Marie droned, “ _It was only a matter of ti-i-i-ime…_ ” She reached in to attack the two, Pearl instinctively defending her partner from this abomination. And then…

“Mariebot, run Command number 36755!”

The robot stopped, “ _...You are no longer the registered owner of this robotic host._ ”

“Like hell ah am! Override Code 115-935!”

The robot sighed audibly, oddly, and then straightened back up, “ _...Returning to set location and disabling…_ ” and then it turned to walk down the hall, vanishing into the shadows.

Silence. And Pearl quickly turned to Marina, “Was that...you?” Marina shook her head, “Well, how? It sounded like you!”

“Well it’s SORTA me…” came the voice again. A figure stepped out into the doorway. Pearl’s jaw hit the floor. It was another Marina! In a black crop top, black jeans, a cream bandana...and two, black and yellow eyes. She sighed, “Look, take a seat, y’all. This is gonna get...weird.”

===

“So your world is basically if depression gave super powers?”

“...Ah mean, you ain't WRONG...”

It was now 5:45AM. The three were now sat in the office. Lord knows where the robots had gone. That override code had sent them all packing. They sat around, talking, drinks in hand. The other Marina was sipping from a bottle of...something. It smelled foul, whatever it was.

“...I...am I dreaming?” Marina asked, staring bleary-eyed at her copy, “Am I just dreaming right now? I’m just so tired…”

“Nah, I’m seein’ it too,” Pearl blinked.

“Don’t worry, ah got somethin’ that’ll put the spring in yer step!” the other Marina handed the original the bottle, “Drink up, girl!”

Marina took a simple sip of the drink...and instantly recoiled like she’d be stung, “JEEZ! HOLY…” she gasped in shock, “Is that...OctoScotch?!” the other Marina nodded, “...That’s not a taste I’ve experienced in a long time…what’s goin’ on?”

“Ah’ll tell you! They call me...well, War Marina,” the Octoling gibbered, “And ah really didn’t wanna step in here, but ah gotta. Those metal beasts causin’ yer little angel all that trouble? Ah made ‘em!”

“...What?”

“Le’s just say…” War Marina sighed, “Ah’m part of a team of...like-minded peoples. And ah was tasked with creatin’ those robots after MAH Pearlie played this here vidja game. Said they’d be one hell of a way to ‘make the inklin’s suffer’. It’s...her thing.”

“Wait, so these things AREN’T just entertainers?” Pearl asked, astounded.

“Never wuz! They were to lure you in with their friendly ol’ looks and drag you elsewhere to be...disposed of. Ah saw it when ah looked in on that janitor. Holy squit, ah’m kinda glad we never fielded these…”

“Okay, so…” Marina asked, “...Why’re they here? What’s ‘your’ Pearl planning?”

“Ah ain’t plannin’ nothin’!” War Marina said, chugging the last of her drink, “Dang things got stolen from us before we could test ‘em. We tracked ‘em down here, and ah’ve been scoutin’ out the place to see who it was! And it’s...oh, it’s bad.”

“Why?” Marina gulped, “Who stole ‘em?”

“...Our ex, ‘Rina. She’s gone nutso!”

“Our...ex?” Marina’s tired mind took a few seconds to piece it all together, and then, “...Her?! Impossible. She’s still in the Domes, isn’t she? She never left!”

“She did here!” War Marina squawked, “And man, don’t she wanna make it known. Ah can’t do much. She took total control over ‘em. Ah had to hack my ass off to even get ‘em to stand down here! She’s set out to prove a point, and she don’t care if your little girl gets caught in that crossfire. The best ah can do now is, well, help you destroy ‘em. Ah’ll send you the details later. Just…” she stood up, “Go on and get! This place ain’t safe for anyone no more…”

And with that, she turned and fled. Pearl sat there, her mind working though all the details before, mercifully, the 6AM bell chimed. They were free to go home. Pearl sighed harshly, “Man, I’m SO glad I never worked the Graveyard shift…” after a pause, she turned to Marina, “Was all of what that psycho you said true, though? You never mentioned an ex back...down there, ‘Rina.”

“I...promised myself I’d never bring it up,” Marina sighed, scooping Pearl into her arms, “But, I’ll tell you everything, I promise. Come on babe, let’s get some sleep.”

“Ah man, sleep is SO fresh right now…” Pearl chuckled, nestling into Marina’s arms as the two stepped out of the restaurant. The night fell silent, though one was awake. Awake and very angry.

Her face was a permanent frown, her teeth angrily clenched together like a battle of two armies fighting a bloody, merciless war. It was no use, she had now been exposed. Well… whatever. Perhaps it was wishful thinking that she’d be hidden forever with her stolen goods. They served their purpose well up to this week, countless victims simply wiped away from the world. But now there was no use keeping her facade up. Her hands slowly sharpened an axe head, the scraping of metal clawing a wretched sound in her secret room. “That’s right Marina… it’s me...”


	8. Ashes to Ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At long, long last, justice is to be set upon the infernal establishment. With enough information and evidence of the wrongdoings of the pizzeria, the returning New Squidbeak Splatoon are left with only one option; end the madness once and for all.

The midday sun shone brightly down upon Inkopolis on the last day of the week, though neither Pearl or Marina were jumping for joy. The Inkling was still sleeping like a sea rock, though the taller idol had just begun to stir.

And with awakeness came the memories.

Last night was a life trial that they barely passed, and it was by pure luck. A chance meeting that saved both their hinds. As Marina carried Pearl back last night, she could only imagine all the cruel scenarios her poor daughter and friend must have been through the five nights they had completed. But even in her sleep deprived state, her… weird counterpart’s voice remained clear, crystal…

“ _The best ah can do now is, well, help you destroy ‘em. Ah’ll send you the details later. Just…” she stood up, “Go on and get! This place ain’t safe for anyone no more…_ ”

That place was a threat. Not just to them, but all the poor Inklings and Octolings who visited. It was a death trap, disguised as a family fun festival. Ve had already told her about the poor janitor’s fate already, how he was torn limb from limb. Who knows how many more had been crudely slaughtered? Were some of the victims even… children? The very thought made her chest squirm like maggots.

A spit of sunshine caught Marina’s eye, causing her to lightly groan. It took a moment to realise it was her phone, shining on the side. She blinked and before she realised had picked it up, unlocking the cute screensaver of a napping Pearl on a Marina body pillow. Hey, she had some weird stuff too so who was she to judge her Inkling companion? Still, there were much more important things that needed to be dealt with. Namely a pizzeria.

She tapped the NSS group chat and texted away.

===

“ _This needs to end tonight, meet at the Outpost…_ ” Ve re-read the text as she and Marja walked down the road towards the Square, “Guess it was a good thing I got my friends here, huh?”

“Looks like we’re getting rid of that nightmare once and for all,” Marja chuckled, sipping on her cola, “I’m game, let’s burn that place to the freakin’ ground. So…” she paused, “Where’re we goin’ anyway?”

“Just look for the super obvious, not suspicious manhole...” She trailed off as they found said manhole, right outside of Sheldon’s shop. “Down here Marja,” She slipped through the grates with her Octopus form and disappeared in a splash of ink. Marja hesitated for just a second before following her lead.

About twenty seconds of continuous tumbling later, Marja finally landed with an audible clattering sound on the exit grate. She slowly, gracelessly got to her feet and looked around. Her head was spinning like a waltzer ride, her eyeballs mercilessly rolling her in her sockets.

“Ahh, you made it,” came a dour voice, “Welcome to-”

“JUST…” Marja whined, “Just give me a second, yeah?” And with that, she stumbled to the corner of the Outpost. There was a glass orb there, an old man with a bunch of cards outside of it. Marja leaned against the globe and vomited, splashing the orb with light blue ink.

“AW COME ON, YO!” came a voice inside the orb, “YOU JUST VOMITED ON MY SNOWGLOBE!”

“Heh…” came the same dour voice, “I like this squid already.”

Recovering from the motion sickness, Marja looked back up at the voice. In front of her, in front of a wooden cabin decorated with scrap, there sat five people. A tall squid with white hair and mint-green highlights, wearing a green jacket, jeans, sneakers and a hat with white facemask. Another tall squid in a pink jacket, shorts, a large beanie with a star on it and shutter shades. A younger girl Inkling in a reflective protective jacket, currently doing that one dance from that Fortfish mobile game. A male Inkling in a similar jacket, with a large black cape running down his back. And finally, Ve, in very revealing, cropped black leather clothing joining them in the ensemble.

“Holy Squit…” Marja gasped, “You’re friends with the SQUID SISTERS?!”

“W-What Squid Sisters?” the pink squid blurted out, “We’re a totally different group...uh, the Cephalopod Cousins!”

“Smooth, Agent 1,” the mint-green squid sighed.

“Here, let me help you Marja.” Ve gently led her friend to the group, settling her down between Mrs White Hair and Boogy Woomy. The Inkling blushed hard however, with her brain slowly clicking together just what Ve was wearing! “So, umm, I’m Agent 8, or just 8 to these guys. That dancing girl is 3-”

“Baaaaaby shark, doo doo doo-ddo doo-doo doo doo~!”

“...yeah, she’s like that. Umm, the boy next to her is 4 and he’s dating her!”

Said boy blushed a little at the statement, “That wasn’t… really needed 8. Still, nice to meet you Marja.”

Ve smiled and moved onto the white and black haired ladies, “There gals are Agents 1 and 2 respectively!”

“Heyoo~!” 1 greeted happily while the other gave a small smile and nod in greeting. Marja couldn’t help but feel slight excitement meeting what she was 99% sure was the original celebrities of Inkopolis.

“And over there by the globe is the leader Cap’n Cuttlefish and in said snowglobe is the Octarian General, Octavio.”

Cap’n put his cards down and walked up to Marja with a raised hand, “Pleasur’ meeting you Mah- Mark- Maji- hnrnn… difficult name, so I think I’ll call yah… Mario!”

“No.”

“Fine, fine…”He grumbled to himself before he snapped his fingers, ”How ‘bout Mags?” He suggested, to which Marja was still annoyed but it was dozens of golden eggs better than Mario. She gave a single nod to it, to which a deep, sadistic chuckled emitted.

“Pfft, another child to die for you sushi snacks?” Came a cold, chilling voice to which everyone turned their attention to the massive Octarian stuck in the ink-covered ornament. His face seemed to be molded into a permanent frown as he glared at Marja. She wouldn’t admit it but her fear slowly rose the longer he held her gaze.

“PUH-lease Octo-daddy! You’re just still salty us “children” kicked your dumb robot’s metal ass!!” Agent 3 proudly boasted, leaning down from on top the globe. No one saw her even move. “I bet this cutie could beat you 1v1 anyday, bro!”

Octavio simply rolled his eyes, “Tsk, you just got lucky short stack. When I get out again, you’ll know the wrath of my true grooves!”

Agent 2 walked up to the globe, “As much as I love your villain cosplay Octavio, we have more important matters to discuss.” She turned her back on him and addressed everyone, “We all got Marina’s text, correct?”

“Our phones have been ringing non-stop between 8 and Marina,” Agent 4 said stoically, to which Agent 2 shrugged towards.

“Fair enough,” she conceded, “But, the point still stands. She texted a large amount of information over, stuff she pulled from the robots and the previous couple of nights. It’s big. Come into the Cuttlefish Cabin, we’ve cobbled the details together…”

===

1,2,3,4,8 and Mags all sat around a massive table, full of documents and tea cups. 3’s was full of Mountain Dew, 4 had a deep, black coffee, 1 and 2 had tinici tea while Ve and Marja had normal tea. The latter had to fight back a massive blush as Ve bent over to reach a document that caught her eye, settling back down to Marja’s left on the couch. She never realised just how much Ve’s usual skirt covered…

“So if Mags would stop being gay for a minute, we’ll do a briefing of the situation.” 2 smirked at the way the Inkling blushed under her gaze, “This operation will be called “Five Nights at Wahoo World”, based off the five nights 8 and Mags did.”

3 gulped her cup down in one go before piping up, “SO!!! We have killer robots as the idols! Looks like there are imposters among us. Very spooky~”

4 put a hand on her shoulder to gently push her back into her seat, “Marina and Pearl did a night shift last evening and with all the information gained from the week, we have come to a conclusion these robots are a massive, serious threat. They need to be destroyed.” 

“Yeah!” Agent 1 said, looking over the scribbles and documents on the wall, “So, here’s what we know. This pizzeria hasn’t been active on Wahoo World grounds that long. Like, six months at most. There’s no record of such on the company’s files, yes Marina stole some of those, the building used to be an old gift shop that was abandoned and relocated.”

“And whoever’s behind this now slipped into the building, renovated it and no-one noticed?” Agent 4 asked.

“Guess the higher-ups don’t care if they’re still getting the funds,” Ve said, “But this isn’t about the money.”

“No,” Agent 2 sighed, “From blueprints Marina says she was given, the animatronics of us are designed from the ground up as murder machines. They can operate semi-autonomously, have weapons stashed in their bodies and even have the capacity to shove victims inside themselves to be crushed in their mechanical internals.”

“...So it’s vo-”

“ _ **NO**_ ” Everyone shouted to the still smiling 3. She merely giggled and plopped back down on her seat.

“Those poor kids,” Agent 1 whined, “They don’t know they’re so close to those who could kill ‘em. Though, thankfully, Missing Person Reports from the same time show only Night Guards and Janitors went missing most nights.”

“I- Me and Ve can… confirm that.” Mags sighed, leaning into her partner’s side. That butchered memory would never fade from her life.

“Poor Mike...” The Octoling mourned herself, “S-Still, we need to do something to the robots. And I think we all agree that destroying them is our best- no, only option.”

“And find out who is controlling them,” Agent 4 interjected, “And why.”

“Then it’s settled,” Agent 2 clapped, “Come midnight, we’ll head down there and finish this. For now, we wait. And train. And plan.”

“And nap,” Agent 1 said.

“And floss,” Agent 3 said.

“And get Mags a weapon,” Agent 8 spoke up, “She’s coming too, right?”

“I mean, she ain’t a part of our regiment…” Agent 4 said.

“Yeah but if you’re destroying those things, that have given me nightmares for a whole week...I WANT to be there to see it. Besides...” she looked a little sheepish and scratched her head, “Ve is going with you guys. I’m not leaving her side, not after all we went through.”

“Heh, you got yourself quite the catch there, 8!” Agent 3 giggled, leaning into Agent 4, “Makes us even!” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, to which he blushed like a traffic light at.

“Then what’ll be your pick?” Agent 2 said, a smile on her face as 1 started to plan possible attack strategies with the now glomped 4, “We’ve got the latest in Hero Weaponry.”

“That is NOT just standard splatters coated in black and green paint, we promise!” Agent 1 giggled.

Marja remained a little silent. And then, a lightbulb above her head, “Oh don’t worry. I’ve got an idea…” 

===

“Okay, earpiece check...you hear us, Marina?”

“ _Loud and clear, Agent 4! I’m ready to guide you all through this!_ ”

“Coms are up and good. Time to work Squidbeak Splatoon. Mission is a go.”

Wahoo World. 11:55PM. It was time. The Agents all stood shoulder to shoulder outside of the fated pizzeria. Each one had their weapon and ink tank, ready for whatever threat could be lurking inside. 1 had her Roller while 2 shifted her grip on her Charger. 3 and 4 had their respective Hero Shots, with the former joking how his looked like a P90 from the human days. 8 had an Octo Shot she snatched up during her escape from the underground laboratory while Mags had the Hero Slosher. In other words, a bucket. Callie nervously explained that Sheldon was a genuine weapons designer, honest, on the way over. But Marja had experience with Sloshers - one knocked her silly during the fated match where she met Ve, after all - so she knew they were devastating in the right hands.

4 took the step forward, frowning at all the tape wrapped around the building. It almost seemed like a crime scene, but was deathly quiet. “We’re all ready, right? Weapons good?”

3 nodded and grinned, “Let’s commit some robot genocide!!” And with that, she kicked open the doors so hard one flew off the hinges, crashing into a very unfortunate table. There was an errant pause before 3 spoke up again, “...I’m...REALLY glad we don’t have bones. Otherwise I think I’d be in a lot more pain than this…” 

Everyone just facepalmed before slowing filling into the building. The place had more tape and warnings on the inside, as if an investigation was still underway. But no one was here. Even the robots weren’t on the stage in their usual places. 3 and 4 explored at the front of the group, 8 and Mags behind them with the Cousins taking the rear.

“Good Swordfish, this place is a dump,” Agent 2 snarked, “They attached my face to THIS gimmicky stuff?! It looks like the style of those two Idols before we took the role back in the Plaza...what was it, 80’s?”

“So many leg-warmers,” Agent 1 shuddered, “So many…”

“Yeah, this place has seen better days,” Agent 4 sighed, looking over it, “Looks like a health hazard waiting to happen, haven’t even MET the animatronics yet.”

“Speaking of…” Agent 8 shuddered, “...Where are they?”

Mags had a brief look around the main stage before shuddering a tiny bit, “They are usually on the stage. Cod, even Marina said they were here yesterday.” She shared a look with Ve and she nodded with a grim expression, “Something’s off here...”

“How about we try the phone?” 4 suggested quickly, stroking his chin, “That usually explains the night, right?”

“Worth a shot, I guess. Ve, can you-”

“GOT IT!!” 3 called happily, holding the phone out proudly to the group. She then frowned and examined it over, “I’ll be honest, I have no clue what phone this is. Looks old and outdated, like Octavio's fashion sense!"

A voice suddenly spoke out from the dropped phone on the ground. The dreaded voice that had haunted 8 and Mags for five nights straight. “Hmph, so this is your answer to the final night? Looking sloppy already, my girls.”

Mags practically growled at the voice, clutching the bucket tightly, “You… You’re not toying with us tonight Sallie!! This place is going down and won’t ever come back again!!”

“Really? You ALL sealed your fate simply returning here! This is my turf, these are MY rules!! But now? NOW?!” A deep, hollow laugh echoed from the device. A laugh with a promise of blood and death, “I tried to have a nice, clean ending, but you guys came here to end my revenge pre-maturely?! NO!! THIS NIGHT, all your ink will spill!! Forget 4/20 mode! Forget surviving! You want a fight?! THEN YOU GOT ONE!!!” She roared, before a beeping sound from the phone. It slowly got faster and louder. Almost like a-

“GET DOWN!” Agent 2 yelled, ducking behind the tables for cover. The others did too, 3 just barely planking behind cover when the phone exploded, sending a deafening boom and shards of phone across the room. Agent 1 curled in and screamed in pain, ears ringing from the sheer volume of the explosion. Everyone lay on the floor for a bit, waiting for their hearing to come back. Mags was the first to get back on her feet, looking over the floor. The tables and chairs were scattered by the blast. But upon the stage, there they were. The four animatronics. Robot Callie, Robot Marie, Robot Marina and Robot Pearl, standing their ground against the Agents. All with angered expressions on their faces, their LED eyes glowing a vibrant purple.

“Holy Squid is that me!?” Agent 2 gasped, “But...I look so fat!”

“And I look like a man!” Agent 1 whined, “What sicko hated us enough to make these things?!”

Seemingly ready, the Robot Marina stood up and opened her back plates. An electric circuit beamed to life before her robot companions were cloaked with a purple glow of energy. 4 and 8 tried shooting the group, but their ink bounced off harmlessly. The robots raised their hands, opening holes in the palms to reveal massive nozzles, from which was released a torrent of sticky black ink.

“Take cover!!” 2 shouted, all the agents turning tables to protect them from the toxic substance. There was a faint, acidic smell from the robot’s ink and no one was looking forward to knowing what it would do if it struck them. The tables rattled violently as the robots didn’t let up, keeping the NSS suppressed. 2 flipped to a side table and shot at her robotic counterpart, only for the animatronic to simply stumble a tiny bit and return fire. “Marina, what are we dealing with here?” She yelled, diving back to cover. 

“ _Looks like my robot can give the others a shield of sorts! You’re not gonna get anywhere until she’s down. Looks like her back is vulnerable, so you’ll either need to flank her or attack from above her._ ” The tech Octoling chipped in, while scanning the other three threats.

“Well, I’m kinda stuffed then ‘cause my weapon shoots straight as an arrow!” Agent 2 crowed.

“And I can’t get close enough to use my Roller!” Agent 1 called out, neatly dodging a blast of black ink - it started to eat away at the floor with a fizzing sound, causing her to breathe erratically.

“And THIS…” Mags grinned, bringing out the bucket, “Is why I picked the bucket!” With a deft toss, she slung a wave of cyan ink across the arena, arcing over the robotic Marina’s head and splashing on the wall behind her; some of the splashback got into her suit, and she suddenly started fizzing with electricity as the ink ran amok in her circuits.

3 beamed, “Nice one Mags!!” but quickly paled as the three robots aimed for the now exposed agent, “Guys, covering fire now!!” 3 and 4 focused fire on the Callie bot, forcing her to raise an arm to cover her eyes. 1 rushed the Pearl animatronic and swung at her with the deadly Roller. The small animatronic raised its arms to block the strike, but struggled under the surprisingly strong Inkling. 2 and 8 then coordinated against the Marie bot, attacking her from both sides that she struggled to pick a target.

Mags meanwhile spilled more ink across the floor as the robotic Marina was dazed, then swam across the maelstrom of black sludge to get behind her. With another strong shove, Mags smacked the robot with another barrage of ink across her back, causing the robot to start smoking and whining and spasming around wildly. She reared up a powerful kick, releasing it with such intensity that the robot Octoling’s head tore clean off and bounced across the room. The robot sputtered its last and fell to the ground, the aura beyond the others slowly vanishing. Mags, very quickly realising she was in point blank tar range, screamed, “NOW! OPEN FIRE!!!”

The agents, all too eager to push their advantage, started an all out attack against the Idol Robots. The remaining three slowly got more and more banged up as Ink, bombs and a Roller smack started to wear them down. Pearl suddenly jumped way back, farther than anyone expected, and opened up her chest plate. A wave of vibrations and a familiar turfing sound echoed as a laser marker lit up.

“ _She’s firing a Killer Wail, everyone out the way NOW!!!_ ” Marina screamed in the earpieces, with everyone thankfully getting the message. The squad barely dived and swam out the way as the sound laser shot out, so violently that the tables got torn apart from the sheer pressure she caused. In the brief moment they had, the robots split up. Callie ran for the kitchen, Marie headed up to the office and Pearl retreated back into her side stage platform.

“They’re splitting up,” Agent 4 growled, “They know we’ve got strength in numbers, they’re tryin’ to take up by surprise!”

“Then we better split up too,” Agent 2 commanded, “Me and 1 will go after Callie. 8, Mags, apprehend the Pearl bot! 3 and 4, tag team and take down that hideous parody of me.”

“Ma’am yes ma’am!” Agent 8 saluted, dragging Mags down to the Side Stage.

“Come on 4, let’s teabag the Marie bot for our final killcam!!!”

“You’re lucky you’re so cute…” He sighed as 3 crouch-walk-crouched towards the office. 

1 smiled and nudged 2’s shoulder, “You and me cous, let’s do this like we always have done!”

2 smirked with a nod, “Just another day for the NSS. Let’s go!”

===

The two idols in arms carefully stepped over the destroyed door to the kitchen, clearly rammed through like paper. The cooking area itself was a mess. Pots, pans, broken glasses, all the cutlery was just scattered all over the floor. One of the stoves was currently on the hottest setting, giving a burning glow to the usually dark building. And across the other side of the room was their Target. Animatronic Callie.The robot, splattered with some of Mag’s ink, was staring at them from across the room, body arched to strike.

Agent 1 defiantly took a step towards her robot counterpart, pointing her Roller as if she were wielding a sword, “You’ll be nothing but scrap metal when we’re finished with ya, other… me!!”

“ _We...o-o-only did what Ms Afto-o-o-n wanted us to do…_ ” the robot said solemnly, “ _I wanted to entertain the ki-i-iddies. But I exist to kill...so I will continue my existence._ ”

“Wow, what glumstick made THIS thing?” Agent 2 asked snarkily. Agent 1 looked at her with a certain face before she was pushed away, “No.”

“A-Anyway!” Agent 1 grinned, “You think we ain’t prepared for this? We’ve got the most powerful splatters this side of the Valley, you ain’t got nothin’! We’re THE Agents of the Splatoon! And we’re gonna take you down! What’re you gonna do about it?”

The robot giggled a little. And then, as a response, its chest plates...opened? Two large holes opened in the robot’s chest plate, from which amongst a whirring sound came two...minigun barrels?!

“What.”

With a ratcheting whir, the mammary miniguns spun up and fired, carpeting the kitchen in bullets. Pots and pans, full of holes, flew everywhere. Crockery and cutlery was scattered across the floors. Even the tins of canned tomatoes and canned pizza (wow this place was cheap) were blasted open, pouring their contents all over the kitchen. The idols screamed in fear and bolted for solid cover, some workstations just a bit behind them. They landed, Agent 1 far less gracefully than Agent 2, and took cover from there.

Agent 2 raised slightly to fire off a Charger shot, but screamed and quickly shot down to avoid a blanket of brass. She curled inwards and looked at her cousin, “I reiterate; WHO THE HELL MADE THESE?!”

“Oh I see!” Agent 1 growled, “So they make me fat and look like a man, but it’s okay, as I’m packing heat! HAHA! We are SO suing this place!”

“ _Girls!_ ” came Marina’s voice over their earpieces, “ _Not right now?_ ”

“Sorry,” Agent 2 sighed, talking over the cacophony of bullets, “How do we stop this thing? There’s no way we’re getting close to that thing without gettin’ shredded!”

“ _For some reason, the armour on this one is tougher than the others_ ,” Marina said, “ _Looking over the documents now. Ink will still work, but it needs to be more powerful to get through the shell._ ”

“Like what?”

“ _Standard Bombs won’t cut it. You’ll need something stronger! Like, I dunno...Octavio’s takoyaki bombs or something!_ ”

And Agent 1 suddenly looked at her cousin, a devious grin on her face.

“Callie. No.”

“Yes.”

“No Callie.”

“ _What’s she planning?_ ”

“It’s time…”

“ **AGENT 1 I ORDER YOU-** ”

“TO GET ROCKED!” Callie yelled, digging into her pockets and pulling something out. To Marie’s horror, it was those stupid Hypnoshades! She cursed silently as Callie slipped them on. Strong light emitted from the shades along with some muffled music, Callie beginning to drool and moan as the pretty shapes and pounding music massaged her brain. Marie absolutely hated that Callie seemed to enjoy this so much.

Suddenly, there was a pause in the action. There were multiple clunking sounds. Seems the robot was trying to reload. Callie hopped up onto the workspace to see her robot duplicate shove two drums of ammo into her chest. The mechanical beast looked up, “ _Hu-u-h?_ ”

“LET’S DROP THIS SPICY WASABI BEAT!” Callie yelled, tearing her Agent outfit off. To Marie further horror, underneath was her accursed leather getup from when she was under Octavio’s rule, tight and revealing and utterly NOT fresh.

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WEARING THAT?!” Marie screamed. But she didn’t have more to yell about as the barrels revved up again. Her terror seemed to increase tenfold as Callie merely grinned at the spinning cylinders of death. “CALLIE!!!”

“ _E-Enough of th-these g-g-games!!_ ” The animatronic then opened fire once again, its guns roaring with violent intent. Callie with her vibing shades, started to dance, weave, turn and flip her way out of the bullets. She seemed to be in her own world, shaking and spinning and singing in glee as she avoided the hell fire by some miracle. Marie couldn’t even check on her as stray bullets took off her green cap, coming dangerously close to her head. Her lungs almost deflated entirely in that moment.

Meanwhile, Callie was slowly advancing to the robot in her dance. The music, her voice, they were too powerful! And she was about to show why! “Hope you’re ready you bucket of bolts!!” She gleefully screamed before leaping up and beyond the barrel’s range, her hair igniting in a hyper frenzy of a special, “Bomb Rush Blush!!!” Massive, Octarian crafted splat bombs flew out of her arms one by one, punishing the robot with massive ink explosions. One after one they hammered the robot like a drill, slowly denting and destroying its servos and circuits. Callie did not stop her wrath until after twenty bombs of assault.

The Callie bot seemed to curve backwards from sheer force, her barrels now bent and inoperable. She held her hands out to try balance, but a swift kick by Marie sent the machine onto the lit stove. The robot screamed as her head plates melted under the intense heat. No words were said as she shot the robot in the head, the sheer force of her Charger decapitating the robot’s head in a single blast. A tiny part of her shivered in dread as she turned the stove off, knowing who this robot was designed after. ‘She is fine’ Marie firmly told herself, looking at her cousin who was posing in front of the robot taking a selfie, one hand on her hip and a tongue sticking out.

Callie finished her Selfie and approached Marie, “Wooo! Aww yeah, I have been ACHING for that other me to let me out every once in a while. Always good to let your wild side run rampant a little, you know? Don’t you agree?”

Marie responded by ripping the shades off of her cousin’s head and slapping her. Callie sputtered in confusion as the hypnotising wore off, her eyes spiralling as she saw Marie throw the shades to the ground, charge a Charger shot and blast them apart. She sighed sadly and arched forward, but Marie stood her ground, “NEVER wear those again…” a pause, before a tear slipped from her eye, “You don't realise what memories those bring back for me. I...I could’ve lost you Cal.”

“...You’re right,” Callie sighed, “I’m sorry…” she reached in for a hug, and Marie begrudgingly obliged. After a small snuggle, they separated, “I...can’t imagine you wanted to shoot my head again. That must’ve sucked. Heh, imagine if, like, you overcharged a shot and took my head clean off!”

“Please don’t…” Marie whined, “...Although, I wonder what sorta path I would’ve gone down if I did that. Maybe I’d go crazy or somethin’. Hmm. Anyway, let’s go meet up with the others….you DID bring some spare clothes, right?”

Callie shrugged; she secretly really liked how it fitted her, though she’d never admit it to Marie of all people. Said cousin simply sighed with a head shake and headed back to the main room.


	9. Dust to Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle for Wahoo World continues on as the night ticks forward and the dawn runs ever closer. Slowly running out of time, the various Agents of the New Squidbeak Splatoon settle down and bring the pain to the robots, who have dug in for their final stand. Perhaps the true villain may show their face when all is said and done? Is this where it all ends?

Meanwhile, Agent 3 and Agent 4 were trying their best to get a shot on the frantic Marie Animatronic. She kept moving, not letting up with her own black slug shots as the two agents tried to get an advantage.

4 did a quick roll where the hall to the office came into his view in the briefest of moments. It only took a second for his brain to compile a rough plan, to which he called out, “3, try force her into the office! She won’t be able to dodge us in that small a space!”

“Copy that!” 3 chirped, re-doubling her efforts to cut off the robot. 3 kept pressure on the machine’s right side while 4 flanked the left. She was slowly pushed back into the hall before sprinting down the corridor towards the office. The agent couple was ready to track down the fleeing Robo Marie as they managed to get to the end of the hall, peering out across the office...but, nothing. 

“Wait, where did she go…?” Agent 4 asked, stepping forward into the office. It was too late when a beep went off and an explosion of toxic ink knocked him onto his back and made 3 fall on her rear. The boy agent groaned and winced as he felt the acidic smell and stinging behind the enemy’s ink, hurriedly wiping the substance off. It was so much worse than the typical toxic ink Octolings used on his agent missions. How was that possible?

3 however just stood up with a giggle, dusting herself off. Her happiness soon turned on its head into a frown as she did a quick search, “Uhh, Rina? I think we lost the Marie bot!”

“ _We almost lost YOU!_ _”_ Marina shouted, “ _Please be more careful!_ ”

“...Nope,” 3 said, with a cat-face expression, “So...uh...where is she?”

That was answered with a shout and a massive slam as Robo Marie threw a powerful haymaker at 4’s head, narrowly missing him and making a massive dent in the wall. 4 screamed in shock and scrambled out of the way, towards 3, who instantly shielded him and glared at the robotic Marie. She was standing before them, cracking her metal knuckles with a sickening crunch sound.

“ _Giving you idiots the slip is distressingly easy,_ ” she sneered, “ _Time to die._ ”

“Close the door!” Agent 4 said quickly. 3 grunted and threw her Hero Shot at the button, the metal barrier once again slamming shut to protect the Inklings from the killer robot. The robot growled and stomped down the corridor.

“Well that’s bought us a few seconds…” Agent 3 sighed, staring at the opposite door frame, “‘Rina, what do we do?”

“ _Her armour’s a bit lopsided,_ ” Marina said, “ _Armour on the back’s weaker, but all her important mechanisms are on her front. Shooting her in the back will stun her for sure, but we’ll need something more to eat through the armour._ ”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Agent 3 chimed in, “I’ll just charge up some IA3B! But that’s gonna take some time. 4, any ideas?”

“We’ll need a distraction,” Agent 4 hummed, “One that doesn’t use your ink, so I can get behind and fire on her back.”

“ _Sounds good!_ ” Marina called out, “ _Here she comes! Close the door!_ ”

Agent 3 did so, slamming on the door button as Robo Marie honed into view. She giggled, dabbing in the window as Robo Marie growled at her. But suddenly, with a creaking sound beyond all creaking sounds, Robo Marie punched the door hard, grabbing the sides. With a grunt, the door was torn clean from its hinges, throwing it down the hallway. She glowered at Agent 3.

“ _I AM DONE…_ ” she growled, “ _PLA-A-AYING GAMES...DIE._ ”

“WAIT!” Agent 3 called out. The robot stopped in confusion. And then… she started dancing. She crossed her arms while moving foot to foot and clapping. And she did it again. And again and again in a steady, almost catchy rhythm. “Come everybody, sing with me!!” Another clap as she kept a rhythm. “This is the dance, it’s the distraction dance~!” CLAP! “Hey, look at me, distraction ants in my pants~!” CLAP! “This is the dance, it’s the distraction dance~!” CLAP! “By me moving, us agents will advance~!” CLAP!

The Marie bot almost seemed to spasm out of sheer confusion, as if it’s coding couldn’t even cope with the sheer anomaly in front of her.

“This is the dance, it’s the distraction dance~!” CLAP! “Just trust me, this is the greatest of plans~!” CLAP!

Meanwhile, 4 was sneaking right behind the pair from the other hallway. He could hear his girlfriend doing her magic, thankful that by some holy miracle that it was working. Then again, he has always known 3 for doing the most reckless of plans. Like when she played hide and seek with Octolings while recovering a Zapfish. Sure, she got a verbal thrashing back at base, but… she really was incredible. He turned the corner, still seeing 3 dancing and the Marie robot looking like she was somehow having a midlife crisis. Well, with her body he could, kinda understand that.

“This is the dance, it’s the distraction dance~!” CLAP! “Keep up with me, we’re in our trance~!” CLAP! “This is the dance, it’s the distraction dance~!” CLAP! “Thank you for waiting, now perish with chance~!” On the final CLAP!, 4 ran up and shot Marie rapidly on her exposed back. Her body sparked and she shook violently, smacking 4 away by random spasms in her muscle robotics.

“Alright, 4!” 3 cheered, a soft glow starting to emit from her tentacles “Just in time! IA3B is charged!”

“What…” Robo Marie whirred, “Is IA3B?”

“INNER AGENT 3 BULLSHIT, WOO HOO!” Agent 3 screamed. And all of a sudden, an absolute barrage of Autobombs came raining down on the robotic Marie. She tried to shield herself, but it was too late. A cacophony of red ink explosions shook the halls, batting Agent 4 away from the splash zone, as red ink and bits of robot rained down. At least thirty bombs were chucked before Agent 3 stopped, the glow in her tentacles remaining. Almost nothing remained of the robotic Squid Sister; her casing was completely blown apart, she was missing an arm and she was shivering greatly. With a final yell, Agent 3 jumped into the air and performed the mother of all Splashdowns, coating the walls and floor in ink.

Agent 4 looked down at the miniscule fragments of the robot. They were unmoving and dark. She was destroyed. He breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his stomach where the robot backhanded him. “I...was not expecting that to work. You...you’re amazing, you know that right?”

3 smiled before skipping up to him and pecking him on his cheek, giving him one of her trademark “Adoraboo” smiles, “You’re amazing too 4! Thank you for trusting me!” He gave her a nod with blushed cheeks, though his eyes sparkled right back at hers. She looked down and frowned slightly as he held his belly, “You gonna be okay? You’ve taken a few hits.”

He nodded, straightening a little more, “I’ll walk it off, don’t worry. Let’s regroup with the team for now.” 3 nodded and gently took his hand to lead him. His many hearts thumped a tiny bit harder as she sang some copy text post about a sniper with 300 confirmed splats.

===

There was a clatter of wood and a ripping of curtains as the robotic Pearl began to tear apart her Side Stage. She screamed in rage as she smashed the area to splinters and fragments of fabric. Mags and Agent 8 weren’t far behind, clutching their weapons tightly to their chests. Agent 8 stared at the robotic beast, her twin hearts thumping in her chest. She still remembered the horrific, vivid imagery of her grabbing onto the Octoling’s leg, promising a slow death. She steeled herself, it was time for payback.

“Nowhere to run this time!” Mags called out, “Heh...the irony.”

“ _YOU THI-I-INK I’M DONE FOR?!_ ” Robo Pearl roared, “ _I OWN THIS STA-A-A-AGE! You wanna throw down?!_ ”

“I wanna throw UP after all the carp you’ve put us through,” Mags growled.

“ _Enough talk!_ ” Robo Pearl growled, “ _I’mma e-e-e-end this, here and now!_ ” And with a roar, she fired another Killer Wail at the duo, causing them both to dive out of the way. 8 rolled back into a crouch to shoot back, but the robot had already sprinted around the room, her movements much more frantic, almost like a rabid creature of the wild. All the tables and chairs were practically scrap wood at this point as her heavy weight smashed through them with ease. Mags readied her bucket, but yelped as Pearl charged at her with reckless abandon. The Inkling sunk into her ink, swimming away as another Killer Wail went off.

8 ducked under a fast, outstretched robot arm before missing her shots again, “Damn, she’s too fast! We can’t hit her like this!”

“ _Hmmm, looks like this robot doesn’t have that great of armour, instead focusing on movement._ ” Marina commented through the headpiece, while Mags threw another bucketload of ink just barely missing the feral robot, “ _I’m not quite sure how, but you’ll need to slow her down to get somewhere. Oh, try inking the whole room! She should sink and be a sitting jellyfish then!_ ”

“Got it Marina!” Mags yelled, flashing a quick grin to her partner, “Come on, we know how to turf Ve!” The Octoling BOOYAH!!-ed in response and the two began covering as much ground as possible. Splotches of cyan and light purple ink coated the floors and walls, though the animatronic was clearly not interested in losing her advantage. Her palms began to shoot the toxic sludge once more, but got hit with an Octoshot barrage from her side. The LED eyelights flashed with murderous intent before she screeched louder than either girl had heard her do before. Both covered their ears shakily while the floor was removed of ink.

8 recovered first and cried in pain as the robot threw her against the opposite wall before running about again. The octoling agent groaned as her earpiece panicked, “ _Ve?! You okay?!_ ”

“J-Just peachy Mo-Marina.” She hissed, rolling her left arm and heading back into the fight. Mags was surrounded by her ink, being shot at with another Killer Wail. How many of those did the robot have?! “Did I at least do damage to her?”

“ _Seems like it. Do more good hits like that and she should go down! You can do it, both of you!_ ”

“Copy that, HYA!!” With a battle cry, 8 ran back into the action. Robot Pearl twisted her head at her, firing her palm guns but the agent simply evaded the shots, flipping and sliding with athletic practise. The machine didn’t even notice the other half of the duo until a Splat Bomb exploded right underneath her, lifting the idol clean into the air and crashing back down. Her left side was severely dented, sparks occasionally flickered out of the cracks within the metal. Her left eye was down, yet the right soon quickly filled with malicious intent and wanted nothing more than to tear these two annoying flesh beings to shreds. She jumped back onto her feet and screeched again, the ink removed from the floor.

Mags felt like a jackhammer was drilling away on the insides of her ears, shaking her very thoughts and senses. She was barely aware of the room shaking and the metallic clanging before a heavy impact smashed into her stomach, pushing all the air out her lungs. Pain surged through, along with the sense of weightlessness before she crashed into something thankfully soft. Her head thumped as a cry of distress rang out.

8 watched in complete horror as her Inkling friend was punched right into the Side Stage’s curtains by the robot. She saw Mags’ eyes wide in shock for the briefest moments in the air before the impact. And with it, her chest stirred. An emotion rare, yet familiar called out, roaring and thrashing, drowning out Marina’s frantic, fearful shouts of distress.

The call of revenge. She barely remembered what it felt like to fight with revenge, but now? It powered her, ignited her spirit and soul. That robot- no, that monster just hurt who she cared for the most in the world. Her friend, her partner. She was NOT gonna let that freak get away with this!

8 picked herself up as the robot cackled, seemingly amused by its small victory. Her grip on her weapon tightened, her fist turning a sickly pale as her eyes burned with anger. “HEY!!!” Her voice boomed, echoing around the destroyed room like a Hyper Bomb shockwave. The Pearl animatronic turned to face her, still giggling and smiling. A smile that will be scrapped when she’s done with it, “What you did to Marja, to the girl I love… you’ll pay for that, I SWEAR!!!”

She charged fearlessly at the machine, only for it to dart around the room once more. 8 got to work inking the floor again, dodging punching fly-bys and Killer Wail lasers. Her expression never changed, her fire never dimmed. Soon a good chunk of the floor was inked a purple colour before Pearl seemed to get bored and roared. With a mechanical grunt, she leapt over the ink at 8, seeming wanting to crush her entirely.

8 merely grinned, “Checkmate.”

Her tentacled flashed that ever familiar glow every Inkling and Octoling had grown to know. She left a Splat Bomb before leaping straight up into the air, fist raised and growing with more and more power.

Robo Pearl cursed in binary as the Splat Bomb detonated under her feet as she landed, tearing both her shins off and sending her upwards towards the flying agent. Time seemed to slow as her head clicked upwards, seeing 8’s fist shine and a smile, one full of confidence and null of mercy, shone from above. Then with a yell, the octoling surged downwards, slamming her fist into the metal forehead and striking her down with the Splashdown. They landed with a colossal crash as purple ink exploded around the room, along with metal shards and debris.

When the ink cleared, 8 was standing on top of the now headless remains of the Pearl robot, the black sludge slowly leaking from the neck wiring and motors. She sighed before gasping in remembrance, “MARJA!!” Yet she hadn’t been too concerned as the Inkling climbed out of the Side Stage, clutching her stomach with her weapon seemingly abandoned.

Mags winced before giving a smile, “You got her, yeah? Nice one Ve.”

The Octoling quickly came to her side, concern literally plastered all over her face, “Oh my cod, are you okay?!”

“Well, belly hurts like hell but I hit the curtains so that’s basically it.” 8 sighed in massive relief, though she offered the wounded girl her shoulder which she quickly accepted. But yet, Mags couldn’t help but coughed, “So… ‘the girl I love’, huh?” She asked, with slightly rosy cheeks.

8 however looked like she just admitted to five illegal practises of egg stealing, her face a brighter red than that one rare Inkling boy, “UMMM?! Eh heh, I uhh… Hrnn...”

Her partner merely shocked her head, though her smile never left, “Eh, don’t, uhh, don’t worry. We’ll just… talk later, yeah? I-If you want to, you know?”

8 thought about it for a second before nodding, “Y-Yeah, let’s do that! F-For now though, we should m-meet back with the others.” They both left the scraps behind and failed to notice the right hand giving them the finger.

===

The last remaining clock ticked 5 AM as all the NSS members regrouped into the main room. Aside from 4 and Mags, they all seemed to be in one shape. They took a turn each to describe what their encounter played out as.

Mags stared blindly at Agent 1, blushing madly, “...What ARE you wearing?!”

“It’s her thing,” Agent 4 sighed, “Long story. Anyway, all the animatronics are dealt with, yeah?”

Marina chirped in, furious typing heard from the earpiece, “ _Well, that’s the thing. I don’t see the one that chased Ve and Marja on night five. It was like Fresh Fish, right? Has anyone seen that one?_ ”

“Fresh Fish?” Agent 2 asked, “That thing’s creepy without being a giant robotic death machine. I haven’t seen it.”

“Me neither,” Agent 3 said, still snuggled up to her blushing love.

“We didn’t…” Agent 8 shuddered, “So...where is it?”

“ _ **I’M HERE…**_ ” All 5 agents and Marja turned to the source of the voice. On top of the main stage, it stood. A giant, hulking bipedal nightmare, its black torso casing cracked and rounded. Its arms bearing the burden of fire damage and dents from time gone by. In its right hand, a sharpened axe. Its giant yellow head with frozen smile, staring leerily at the group before it. It looked up and down at them, “ _ **So...you are the Squidbeak Splatoon. YOU are the absolute freaks who turned my world upside down. I’m not impressed. In fact...I’m INSULTED. No matter, I just have to deal with you...**_ ”

It took its steps towards the ground, axe now in both hands and reared up to strike. It got closer and closer, Agent 3 preparing her silly dance and Agent 2 and 4 gearing up to take it on. But suddenly…

“ _SAPPHIRE!_ ” Marina screamed from Agent 4’s earpiece, causing him to howl in pain. The Fresh Fish bot stopped, frozen in place. Marina spoke again, quieter this time, her tone almost pleading, “ _Sapphire, babe...you don’t have to do this. I didn’t mean to abandon you. I’m...I’m sorry…_ ”

“Wait, wait wait wait, time!” Mags cried out, “You two know each other?!” Everyone seemed to have a similar reaction, 1 and 3 gasping openly, 4 had his eyes wide open, 2 actually showed some emotion for once and the last two girls simply looked confused.

“ _ **...Know her?**_ ” Fresh Fish said, its voice cracked and breaking, “ _ **She was my everything…**_ ”

And with that, something bizarre happened. There was a hiss and a release of steam, before the front of Fresh Fish’s torso cover started...moving? Panels in its body rose forward and veered off to the side before sliding into the sides, revealing the internals of the machine. Except, it wasn’t an animatronic. It was an Octoling inside of it. She was wearing the suit like an exoskeleton, lodged and strapped inside. Her skin was white as now, her costume revealing her midriff and thighs. She had a few scars across her body, doubtless from the rough and sharp looking machinery. She had yellow and pink tentacles flowing outwards and upwards in a wild fashion. On her face she wore a snarl, her eyes pitch black with glowing purple irises.

“What the shell?!” Agent 2 blurted out, “Marina, who is this?”

The pale Octoling growled, “My name is Sapphire Jaaku. Though I suppose those two-” She glared at 8 and Mags, “-know me better as “Sallie Afton”, my fake name for this wretched place.”

“...Marina?” Agent 8 asked again, fearfully.

Marina remained silent. And then, “ _...She’s my ex-girlfriend. From when I was still in the Domes._ ”

“That’s right,” Sapphire sighed, “We were cold, afraid and lost down there. We needed to stick together! We all did…” Sapphire looked down in shame, “We were both engineers for Octavio’s weapons of war. I thought we had somethin’ special, just the two of us. But THEN!!!” she looked up, pointing at the Squid Sisters, “You and your ink stain of a recruit show up, pound Octavio into the dirt and sing that stupid song!”

“Well excuse me, it’s not like WE know our song had magical powers and would free all enslaved under Octavio’s rule!” Agent 1 huffed.

“...It DOES slap, though,” Agent 8 shrugged.

“I kinda think it’s overrated,” Mags grumbled.

“Oh my Cod, finally someone who agrees with me,” Agent 2 sighed, “I-”

“ENOUGH!!!” Sapphire roared, “Not everyone got out from that stupid song! You left me behind, Marina Ida! YOU LEFT ME IN THOSE DOMES TO FALL RIGHT BACK INTO OCTAVIO’S RULE!”

“ _I’m sorry!_ ” Marina pleaded, “ _I didn’t mean to! I swear! I just wanted to get out of that hell! Everyone did!_ ”

“When Octavio escaped…” Sapphire continued, “He got NASTY. We got abused like we were nothing! I saw what he did to Callie...the things he did to her. The things he did to us! He...USED us!”

“Callie?” Agent 2 asked, “Is that true…?” Agent 1 didn’t respond, she was looking at the floor, a gibbering mess.

“And when I crawled out of that mess…” Sapphire seethed, “When I finally got to that city on the coast...I see you! And some small gremlin child, acting like lovers and taking in that midget like she was your own daughter!”

“MIDGET?!” Mags roared, enraged beyond belief. Her stance slightly shifted to get in front of 8 protectively.

“You left me behind…” Sapphire sobbed, “You abandoned me to my fate to get in with some shrimp! I thought you loved me...I know I loved you! All this time I WAITED for you! And you leave me to die down there…” Sapphire looked down again, “I...something happened to me. My mind broke, like a carton of eggs! When I wake up, my eyes are like this. I can disguise as anyone I wanted to. I hear all these freaking voices in my head, this guy claiming I’m a part of his family! And I knew...I knew I had to take my revenge on these disgusting creatures you called associates.”

“So why make this pizzeria?” Agent 8 asked, “Why do any of this?”

“Call it inspiration…” Sapphire chuckled, “The family man showed me another member. A man in a rotting suit, killer of the young. He taught me the ways, and they felt...so good. So while I waited for you to emerge, so I could strike you down for what you did to me...I could fill the void watching these inkos gurgle their last before me!”

“Cod you’re SICK!!!” Agent 2 bellowed.

“Unforgivable!” Roared Agent 4, his girlfriend visibly shaken a little if her grip on his arm was any indication, “We should splat you where you stand!”

“ _C-Cods, Sapphire..._ ” Marina practically sobbed into the ear piece, guilt and sorrow flowing into her hearts. “ _I… I am-_ ”

“What, you’re sorry? You are SORRY?!” Sapphire interrupted. Her purple eyes seemed to ignite with emotion; angry, sadness, all the suffering in her life shown with a brilliant purple, “SORRY won’t make up for all the HELL, Marina! SORRY won’t fix the many years I spent alone!! SORRY won’t change me, not who I am NOW!!!”

“...Then we’ll put you down like the rabid animal you are,” Agent 4 growled, “For the safety of Inkopolis.”

“OH don’t worry about that. I’m going, but I’m takin’ you with me!” Sapphire cackled. She pressed some buttons on the robot suit’s arms, and dropped the axe. Two nozzles, tubes leading deep into the machine, rose from the suit’s shoulders. With maniacal laughter, she fired the nozzles, blanketing the room in blazing fire. Everyone quickly got back as the flames wrapped around the room, slowly burning everything in sight. Ceiling beams fell to the floor, shattering into splinters, tables and chairs now nothing more than kindling fueling the fire. Sapphire continued to rant and rave as she careened around the room, blowing flames on everything she could.

The group huddled together quickly, the heat and smoke quickly filling the building. Agent 1 spoke up first, “C-CARP, I don’t wanna be cooked yet!!!”

“What do you mean ‘YET’?!”

“CAN IT GUYS, we need to get out! Like, right NOW!!” 8 cut off the flabbergasted 2 as they rushed for the building’s entrance. They ran, 4 and 2 holding up some of the non-flaming debris to keep the structure as solid as they could, while the others ran down the narrow hallway towards the door. Soon, 4 got out as he dodged some falling timber, leaving only 2 and Sapphire. By now the robot spewed the last of its flames and lay there.

“ _Sapphire!_ ” Marina called out over the earpiece, “ _Please don't die here! I’ll bring you to Pearl’s place, we can repair our friendship. I’ll even make you the third member of Off the Hook PLEASE!!!_ ” a brief pause as Agent 2 voiced her objections and avoided, you know, fire, “ _I feel so guilty...I can’t leave you behind again._ ”

“TOUGH!” Sapphire screamed as the flames began to lick her skin, “You made me a monster, Ida! And in another world, I made YOU one! I should know...I stole her robots!”

And with a final, definite cackle, Sapphire rocked backwards and forwards, tears leaking from her eyes as she guffawed madly. There was the briefest of screams as some flaming timber crashed into the robot, but Agent 2 wasn’t sticking around long enough to find out what happened. She dived through the fallen wood and barrelled out of the building, as what remained finally succumbed and collapsed to dispel embers into the cold, inky-black air.


	10. New Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, it's finally over. The evil has been vanquished. So...now what?
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking around with the story. Me and Shayne are very, very proud of it. :) Happy Halloween!

The moonlight felt good on Marja’s skin. There was a feeling of...vindication, watching the crackling of the Pizzeria as it burned to the ground before the Agency. There would be all sorts of hullabaloo in the morning about what had happened and how it had happened to begin with. The night sky was slightly illuminated by the orange flames that crackle in the wind, though thankfully nothing was there to spread the flames in the park. But for them, for Ve and Marja, it was good enough.

“Well… that’s that I guess? No way the robots are gonna survive that.” Agent 1 eventually spoke, getting murmurs of agreement from 2 and 4.

“What about Sal- no, Sapphire?” Marja asked, still snuggled close to her Octoling’s side. She was nuzzling her with small movements that soothed her pained stomach, “Did you think she, ah… got out of that?”

4 stroked his chin in thought, leaning on his Hero Shot, “It doesn’t seem too likely. Besides, even if she did she lost all her robots and base of operations. Either way, she won’t be hurting anyone anymore.”

“ _...Sapphire..._ ” Marina’s voice was heartbreakingly soft, full of sorrow. No one dared to comment on her supposedly now dead ex, less they hurt a sensitive topic even more. They all gave the burning murder building one last look before heading back to Inkopolis. They had to clear out otherwise the “secret” agency would be exposed in broad daylight. They left, silently and quickly, Ve looking back one final time as the embers from the kindling remaining danced amongst the winds. She didn’t see another Octoling, eyes blazoned in black and yellow, also staring amongst the flames before turning back towards a pale blue light and an ethereal hum.

==

It was a long, sullen tread back to the Canyon, back to the Tentakeel Outpost. Callie, still dressed in her leather garb, was now shivering; both from the cold of the night and the painful memories from down in the Domes. Marie shushed her darkened thoughts, bringing a silver blanket out of her emergency supplies pack and draping it over her cousin. Agents 3 and 4 were conversing, laughing like old friends, perhaps even sneaking a kiss in here or there. Agent 3 seemed more cordial here, sighing happily with nary a meme in sight as she and 4 embraced. Ve smiled lovingly; she knew that, underneath all of 3’s shenanigans, lay a bond with 4 not even Tartar could break. Marina had long since gone off to rest, though no one could exactly know if it was because of lack of sleep or painful emotions. Ve made a silent promise to visit her and make sure her mom was okay.

But for right now, she was cuddling up to her own partner, Marja. She had her wound looked at, thankfully being only a bruise and nothing major. One of the Inkling’s arms were wrapped around her smaller body, her snuggling nicely into the side of her cyan friend.

Red eyes lazily looked down at her, full of fondness even when she raised a brow, “How are you not cold Ve? Those clothes don’t cover much.”

Ve pretended to be in deep thought before nuzzling into the girl’s neck, “Maybe it’s my burning love for you~?” She whispered, before giggling loudly at Marja’s sputtering. She was so cute when flustered! “Nah, just something you adapt to in the Domes. We don’t exactly have stella heating there.”

Marja nodded though pouted a little, “Flirt, much?”

“Only with someone as cute as yo-”

“Cease.” She interrupted, gently covering Ve’s mouth with a finger. The girl simply giggled adorably before snuggling closer. Marja doesn’t know what deity gave her this magenta haired girl, but she knew she was going to treasure their friendship for as long as she could.

“You two having fun?” They looked up to see Marie grinning down on them. But not the typical ‘I’m going to save this for a meme later’ grin, a genuine happy smirk. “You two did great today. Callie was impressed.”

“Well you weren’t that bad yourself!” Marja said, somewhat satisfied, “And here I was, thinking you two idol types were a load of hot air and implants.”

Ve spat out the water she had just sipped upon that last remark. Marie took it in stride, however, and smirked, “That so? Well, that’s all part of the act we gotta put on for the producers. Gramps...uh, Captain Cuttlefish, made sure we were more than a couple pretty faces, no matter what Octavio seems to think…” she looked over to Callie. She was dressed in spare clothes, her leather getup finally on the floor, “Sapphire was right about one thing...he DID do nasty things to her. No matter, he’s not going anywhere. Not on my watch.”

"MY ESCAPE RECORD IS SIX YOU KNOW!” came a bellowing shout from outside the cabin, “I CAN GET OUT AGAIN!!" He was quickly silenced by Agents 3 and 4, keeping a close eye on the general, him grumbling to himself with a frown.

“So…” Marja said after a pause, “Now what?”

“Yeah…” Ve sighed, “I mean, I GUESS our contract is over… that, or it burned up with the rest of it. But, aren’t we gonna get in trouble for this? We did...kinda set fire to their theme park.”

“Don’t worry about that one, Agent 8,” Captain Cuttlefish said, sticking his head through the doorway, “I’ve got a few connections, they’ll cover the damages just fine. On the contrary, I hear my little granddaughters are gonna bring the hurt to THEM, amirite?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Marie said, “They used our faces AND Off the Hook’s faces without license in a very derogatory and...well, lethal way. Pearl’s spent the last week cobbling the papers together with one of her lawyer relatives, she is apocalyptically angry!”

“So long as that money goes towards that Octoling Orphanage,” Cuttlefish said sternly, “They could do with the funding.”

“Yes Gramps,” Marie grinned, saluting as he retreated back to his game of cards with Octavio. Marie looked back at the two, “Well, maybe a LITTLE bit of that court cash will be heading your way. ‘Rina’s been telling me you two have been struggling with rent for a while.”

“And food,” Marja sighed, “...And, a lot of things, actually.”

“Well, make that a sizable amount of that court cash,” Marie said, “It’s the least we can offer for your help...well, actually, there is ONE more thing. How would you like to join our little mission here, Mags?”

Marja’s eyes grew wide, everyone had now shifted their focus on the two girls, all intrigued, “Me?! An Agent?! I-I…”

“You demonstrated incredible skill during all that fighting back there,” Callie called out, “You’re a natural bad buy beatdown-er! We could use your skills on our team, I think! Have a Gorge and some Octo Remnants we’ve been meaning to crack.”

“W-Well…” Marja stammered, “I…”

“Come on, Marj,” Ve pleaded, “You and me, and them, against the world. You can prove you’re truly something. More than your family ever thought you were.”

Marja paused. Yes, her family. Her abusive family that terrorised and abandoned her while showering her sister in praise. She wasn’t even supposed to exist, but she did, and they hated that. All her waking life, right up until she met Ve, they made it known she was NOTHING. But now...Ve was right. Marja could be something after all. That would show those lunatics! If...they hadn’t all been incarcerated eons ago. She stood up straight, “I accept.”

“Then welcome to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Agent 7,” Marie said warmly, the two shaking hands, “It’s great to have you here. Well...I guess we’ll need to rearm and resupply. And I am NOT sending you two on a mission after the week you’ve had. Take a week off. Get into some Turf, just lounge around. You’ve earned it, and then some.”

“Thank you, Agent 2,” Ve beamed, “Well, we best be going. Night!”

“Goodnight, Agents,” Marie sighed.

With her new Agent status, Marja and Ve made their way over to the manhole back to Inkopolis, saying goodnight to all the others. Callie gave a bright smile, 4 nodded with a small smile and 3… was violently vibrating on her rear, constantly yipping “WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WO-WOOMY!!!” Then in a blink, she was gone and a wave like thunder roared in the distance. Both had a questioning look before 4 shook his head, clearly not in the mood to explain his wacky girlfriend’s antics.

Marja let out a small, soft laugh, “These guys are wacky, but eh. They’re alright in my book.” Ve nodded happily, her smile brighter than any firework Marja had ever seen. Her heart thumped as that one sentence replayed in her mind.

“What you did to Marja, to the girl I love… you’ll pay for that, I SWEAR!!!”

Her heart fluttered at the thought. But was it in the moment of a stressed situation, or… did Ve actually love her, like, TRUE love her? Marja knew her cheeks were a little heated, but she couldn’t really wait any longer. Heck, this week was supposed to be normal but then they nearly got killed, killed AGAIN and now she was an Agent. If this week had any lesson, it’s that you can never predict the future. There will always be a surprise that you can’t or couldn’t predict. Ve was here. There right here and now.

The only time to act was the present. Marja tried to steel her nerves before calling out, “Hey Ve? Mind, uh. Ahem, m-mind if we can talk?”

Ve blinked but quickly gave a small smile, “Sure Marja, what is it?” Cods she was so cute. Her rounded face, her beautiful amber eyes, her dorky toothy grin, her cuddly frame.

The Inkling could feel her chest flutter even more, “Well, uhh… r-remember when I got hit?”

“You mean against Pearl or your past?”

“P-Pearl, l-literally tonight.” She clarified before coughing into her hand, “I-It’s just… I-I heard what you s-said to her, a-after she knocked me away, you know?”

To her credit, the Octoling kept her composure, though a noticeable amount of blush coloured her face, “I-I see.”

“I-I just, uhh… w-was that “in the moment”, uhh, kinda thing or?” If Marja could shout at her mental self, it would put some game ranters to shame. Why can’t she just say it in one, nice, neat line?!

Ve blushed even more, hugging her arm and shyly looking away, “I… Hmm” She bit her lip slightly, seemingly thinking how to phrase it. A slight hook of dread dug into Marja’s chest, but she hoped, PRAYED that it wouldn’t yank her apart. The agent in leather then slowly took both Marja’s hands and held them together, then both stared into one another's eyes. “I… I r-really like you Marja. Like, I really, REALLY like you. When I started helping you, b-back at the turf game, I-I thought you were nice and could be a really good friend. B-But you’re so much more to me now!” She smiled brightly which the Inkling couldn’t help but replicate, “The more and more you got better and happier, the more I really cared for you. A-And you really care about me too! Even when I mess up, like with cooking, you always help me back to my feet. Y-You watch out for me and make sure I’m happy and okay. I… I love you Marja. I-” Neither noticed they slowly had leaned closer and closer to one another until Ve quietened. The tips of their noses were barely touching as they both blushed.

Yet neither backed away. Neither wanted to.

Amber and red stared into one another, almost like a silent communication they could only understand, before they inched closer. Small breaths tickled Marja’s nose as their lips soon connected. Neither really knew what kissing was like or could imagine. Yet the small, soft contact sparked their bond and love. Neither pushed or pulled back, the simple contact was more than enough as they melted into each other’s embrace. Eventually they parted their kiss with a tiny pop, yet both hearts thumped with new found feelings.

Marja then suddenly giggled and scratched the back of her head, blushing brightly, “Well, uhh… d-damn. I-I love you too, if, uhh… that didn’t clarify, so...” Ve blinked before giggling loudly which Marja couldn’t help but join in with.

The various members of the Splatoon had watched this debacle with glee; a returning 3 was cheering, 4 was silently celebrating, Marie and Cuttlefish merely watched from afar. But Callie...well, Callie was gyrating on the floor in pure happiness, screaming in utter delight at the spectacle laid before her. Marie was sure she was screaming about how she “shipped” it, which only made her smile even wider. It was good to see her happy again. Soon, the entire Outpost cheered and whooped as the two Agents cuddled and kissed some more, framed by the silvery light of the moon.

===

The next week or so was certainly eventful for the majority of the Splatoon;

Agent 3 and Agent 4 continued their Agent-y duties while Ve and Marja recovered back home. Agent 4 continued to scour the Canyon for any traces of Octarian uprising, quelling it wherever he could while gathering supplies for the raid on the Gorge. Agent 3, meanwhile, was often taking trips into the dank misery of the Deepsea Metro, long since opened to the public, to help the various underwater denizens find their way back to the surface. They continued to fight and flirt, 3 each day seeming to find a brand new eons-old human meme to torture her partner with. But 4 didn’t care. She was lovely, really.

Wahoo World’s owners, Carousel Entertainment Inc, were soon entangled in obscenely heavy lawsuits from both the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook. Pearl’s anger during the trail was legendary, and could be heard across the city. That plus their building being suddenly burnt down entirely more or less meant they were KO’ed in a money sense. In the rubble of the wreckage however, a proper security office was being planned to be built in the next year or so. Since no one knew why the pizzeria burned, the general community agreed some extra security wouldn’t hurt.

What certainly made some Inklings and Jellies shiver was the investigation that occured. Multiple mutilated bodies were found in the burned wreckage. Most reports were classified, but there was a list of the victims. Two Inklings, an Octoling, a few Jellyfish and even a Salmonid were found. What was more heartbreaking was the next two casualties found, both small children. Parents cried and mourned over their loss, but what had been done couldn’t be changed.

Desti, with the knowledge of her wounding of Marja being accidental, was barred from Turf War for two weeks to quell protesters. She remained at Meggy’s apartment for the time being, bumming off from her for Sea Snail Shells and fresher gear. Meggy was at least happy she had mellowed out with time. She wondered what would have happened if they remained rivals to the bitter end. Desti was forced to relinquish her Flingza Roller, and the rest of such stock was quickly recalled for reinforcement of the latch that had caused all this to begin with. Nevertheless, she and Meggy trained daily, with their eyes on the prize of the Splatfest Tournament trophy. Only one thing stood in their way; the Killer Inks.

With the pizzeria gone, a new one was quickly built to take the now empty market. Thankfully it was lacking deadly robots and actually had really good quality food. A new Octoling Chef called Cream had opened it and it spiked in popularity fairly quickly. Entertainment was covered by smaller, lesser known pop stars and talented entertainers. Some guard jobs were sent out as well, with Markus and Hale quickly taking the roles. No one had to know they had Ray Guns instead of fancy looking tasers. And more than once had the glasses wearing inkling warned his friend not to show the squishies how it worked, regardless of how cute their baby eyes could be.

Sapphire’s body was never found.

===

“Wow!” Marja called out in victory as she carried her partner into their apartment, her warmed Aerospray by her side, “Those were some INTENSE matches! How did you even snipe that dude out of the air so consistently?”

“I dunno,” Ve chuckled, “How did you manage to keep the pressure on them so well with a glorified spray nozzle? We absolutely destroyed ‘em!”

“Well, it wasn’t just US,” Marja said humbly, setting Ve down on the sofa while she went to rummage through her pockets, “That new kid has REALLY made a name for herself, hasn’t she? Remember when she took a look at my leg and ran away screaming?”

“Man, that feels...so long ago,” Ve sighed, “Glad all that’s over. But, y-yeah, she really took to the Turf well, didn’t she? Got some snazzy clothes, a new friend, rockin’ that N-ZAP like a pro!”

“Glad she wasn’t traumatised by it,” Marja sighed, “Should keep in touch with her. What was her name? Denim? Demiare? D-Demi? Demi, it was Demi!” she smiled with glee as she placed the bags of coins down on the breakfast bar, “And oh boy we’ve got quite the earnings, here! Dinner’s on me, you hear?” she could hear Ve giggle. Cod, she loved it when she did that. Suddenly, something caught her eye on the dining room table, “Oh? What’s this?”

Marja turned and saw what Ve was looking at. On the center of the table was a box, with multiple holes poked on the top. On the side was a note taped to the side, along with some smaller packages next to the main box. What puzzled them both was that they had not ordered anything. Ever since they confessed, they had practically been attached by the hips, one never leaving the other’s side. They both knew they didn’t order this, so what WAS it?

“Check the note,” Marja suggested, which Ve quickly snatched up. But after a brief glance, she gasped in surprise! The Inkling was instantly to her side, “What is it?”

“It’s Marina’s handwriting!” Ve squealed happily! This must be a present, it MUST be! All the good things came in boxes, like her Null Armor! She cleared her throat quickly before reading out loud, _“_ _Dear Eight and Seven, I hope you have both been relaxing like we ordered you two to do! But I also hope you’ve both been alright. I can only imagine how stressful that horrible place was… Which is why me and Pearlie came up with this super fresh idea! You may have noticed the package by now. We wanted to get a gift for you two, for being strong and brave for all those nights. And, well, I’ll let him introduce himself. His name is Snow! I hope you love him as he will love you!_

 _Don’t get cooked, stay Off the Hook~! Marina and Pearl! :3_ ”

Both girls shared a curious look before Marja carefully lifted off the box’s top. And they instantly both gasped.

Inside, snuggled on a soft blanket, was a baby sea bunny. He was so small that he could easily fit in either girl’s hand. Most of his body was pure white, but his ears, nose and tail faded into a dark black. His tiny nose twitched as he slowly uncurled, stretching his tiny legs that were a similar black. Small blue eyes slowly opened as he looked up to the two girls looking down at him and gave a small, adorable squeak.

Ve cooed like Callie seeing a squishy while Marja opened her mouth with the joy of a birthday party kid. “SO CUUUUUTE!” They both cried, wanting nothing more than to cuddle the small poff of a bunny. Said bunny just flopped onto his back, giving a silly look of a smile.

“Brrrrr!” Ve instantly fainted and Marja suffered one heart attack. Thankfully her other two were still there. Snow simply squeaked happily. Ve came to and the two girls brought Snow to the sofa where they began to cuddle him relentlessly. He for the most part seemed to enjoy it, nuzzling into their chest and continuing with his purrs and squeaks. Every now and then, the two girls would reach up to smooch each other before resuming the cuddles.

It was a perfect sort of ending to the week. The light at the end of the tunnel. Marja simply couldn’t ask for more.

**The End**

**...Or, is it?**

===

Somehow, even the management of the park weren’t sure how, some of the animatronics had survived burning down. None were salvageable, fewer still were recognisable except for the Fresh Fish suit, and even that was burned beyond repair. Not like they’d even try to, considering the lawsuit it had just put them through. They all ended up in the same place; a small ditch outside of the city. Even the city dump wouldn’t take it. They were simply abandoned and left to rot.

It was dark, and silent, in the ditch. It was night, only the moon shining on the remains of the robots. Only the Marina, Callie and Fresh Fish robots remained, and in hideously warped form at that; Marina was still headless, her body merely charred by the flames but otherwise intact. Callie was likewise headless, though one of her melted tentacles remained, while the gnarled remains of the miniguns spewed from her damaged torso. She missed an arm and both legs and was likewise charred. The final of the three, however, was Fresh Fish. Only the torso and the head remained, warped beyond instant recognition from the fire. The torso plates had broken off, revealing the complex and uncomfortable writing lining the inside of its internals. The controls and straps Sapphire had used remained, with dried patches of her ink on the sharper parts.

All was silent. All was still. And then...it wasn’t.

A crunch of gravel and scrap as figures approached. Four of them, in total. The first, tall and lanky, dressed in revealing white stage clothing and endlessly brushing her bushy tentacles aside. The next, a younger Inkling in a blue leather jacket and goggles, carrying a shotgun in her hands. After that, another cuttlefish-eared Inkling with a green jacket and a robotic left hand. Finally, a smaller Inkling buried in an oversized hoodie, chugging mercilessly at a can of some “AAA Energy” - with a noticeable trail of cans running behind her.

The Octoling stopped, bending down to pick up a scrap of the robotic remains. She chuckled, her tone of voice one that oozed smugness, “Well, would you dearies look at that! Looks like my alternate and my ex had some braincells between them after all.”

“Thank Cod for that,” the shotgun-toting cuttlefish growled, “After all the ssssssshit we went through just to get this stuff…”

“How many kids have those things killed…?” the robot-handed cuttlefish shivered, “Why can’t we just leave them be?”

“Because, Marie…” the Octoling said tersely, “We need these bots. We need ‘em to get the advantage over those War Splat losers. Get what WE want, ya know? Don’t you wanna rule the roost?”

“I wanna stop this…” ‘Marie’ sobbed, “Don’t you wanna stop, Cal?”

“If these ssssssshitheads can kill those Octoling scumbags,” ‘Callie’ growled, “Then they’re fine by me.”

“Then it’s settled,” the Octoling cackled, pointing to her twitchy, caffeinated companion, “Pearlie, dear! Be a good little girl and get these scraps back to base, and that goes for you two as well!”

“W-Why?” Pearlie whined.

As she lifted the scrap up to her gaze, Raw Marina’s black and blue eyes shone brightly and she grinned, “We’ve got some reverse engineering to do…”

**Okay NOW The End**


End file.
